LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Deceived       JAN     4     1893     -189 
Accessions  No.  1}Q$ZO    .  Class  No. 


0?  THB 

TJHIVEBSITY 


MEMORIAL 


OF    THE 


LIFE    AND    SERVICES 


OF 


JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK 


EDITED    BY 

LARKIN   DUNTON,   LL.D. 

HEAD    MASTER    OF    THE    BOSTON    NORMAL    SCHOOL 


BOSTON 
NEW   ENGLAND   PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

1887 


L 

•T 


HTO   MRS.   JULIA  A.   PHILBRICK, — 

Whose  wifely  devotion  and  wise  counsel  comforted 
and  strengthened  her  honored  husband,  and  whose  kindly 
and  intelligent  interest  in  education  won  the  hearts  of 
teachers,  this  volume  is  respectfully  dedicated  by 

THE   EDITOR. 


"  BE    ASHAMED      TO     DIE     WITHOUT     HAVING     ACCOM- 
PLISHED   SOME    VICTORY    FOR    HUMANITY." 

—  Horace  Mann. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  volume  is  intended  to  be  what  its  title  implies, 
—  a  memorial  of  the  life  and  services  of  him  whom  it 
commemorates.  It  is  not  meant  to  be  in  any  sense  a 
biography.  Soon  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Philbrick,  the 
desire  was  often  manifested  that  the  expressions  of 
honor  and  esteem  which  had  been  called  out  on  the 
occasion  should  be  put  into  some  form  for  permanent 
preservation.  The  death  of  no  other  educational  man 
in  this  country  has  produced  so  profound  and  general 
a  sense  of  personal  loss  ;  for  no  other  has  been  so 
well  and  so  favorably  known,  and  no  other  has  left 
so  strong  an  impress  upon  his  age.  It  was  not  till  he 
had  been  called  to  his  reward,  that  the  deep  respect  in 
which  he  was  held,  and  the  feelings  of  warm  personal 
friendship  with  which  he  was  regarded,  found  full 
expression. 

Then,  naturally,  his  more  intimate  friends  wished  to 
have  the  evidence  of  the  love  and  honor  which  he  had 
won  preserved  to  the  world.  The  present  volume  is 
an  attempt  to  gratify  that  desire.  It  contains  the  ad- 
dresses delivered  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  Boston  in 
his  honor,  a  single  paper  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Philbrick 
himself,  an  account  of  his  last  sickness  and  death,  the 
addresses  at  his  funeral  and  at  his  final  interment,- 
some  of  the  eulogistic  letters  written  to  the  public 
press  on  the  occasion  of  his  death,  the  tributes  paid 


vi  PREFACE. 

to  his  memory  by  the  Boston  Masters'  Association,  the 
Schoolmasters'  Club,  and  the  School  Committee  of 
Boston,  an  account  of  the  public  memorial  meeting  in 
Boston,  a  letter  from  the  Japanese  minister  to  the  United 
States,  and  resolutions  adopted  by  various  associations  to 
which  he  was  favorably  known. 

The  addresses  at  the  Boston  meeting  include  an  ac- 
count of  Dr.  Philbrick's  early  life  and  education,  by 
his  friend,  Gilman  H.  Tucker,  of  New  York  ;  an  ac- 
count of  his  educational  work  in  Boston,  by  the  editor, 
and  an  estimate  of  his  services  to  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion in  general  by  Dr.  William  T.  Harris.  From  these 
addresses  alone  a  stranger  would  be  able  to  form  a  cor- 
rect opinion  of  the  man. 

The  paper  selected  to  represent  Dr.  Philbrick  him- 
self is  his  address  before  the  American  Institute  of  In- 
struction, July,  1884,  entitled,  "  Reform  of  Tenure  of 
Office  of  Teachers."  This  was  a  subject  in  which  he 
had  long  taken  a  deep  interest,  and  it  was  this  address 
that  did  much  to  secure  favorable  action  upon  the  subject 
by  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  in  1886. 

The  papers  and  addresses  contained  in  the  volume 
constitute  an  honorable  memorial  to  a  noble  man.  If 
they  assist  in  extending  and  perpetuating  his  memory, 
the  editor's  labor  of  love  in  preparing  them  for  the  press 
will  be  amply  rewarded. 

Boston,  August,  1887. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 
Early  Life  and  Education.     Tucker,       .        .         .         .         2 

Life  and  Character,     Dunton, 31 

Public  Services,     Harris, 57 

Reform  of  the  Tenure  of  Office  of  Teachers,     Philbrick,  81 

Last  Days  and  Funeral  Rites,     Dunton>    .         .         .  101 
Address  of  Rev.  Charles  B.  Rice,       .         .         .106 

Address  of  Dr.  Spaulding,       .         .         .         .  108 

Address  of  Daniel  B.  Hagarf      .         .         .         .  in 

Address  of  Larkin  Dunton,      .         .         .         .  113 

Letter  from  John  G.  Whittier, 115 

Letter  from  Gen.  John  Eaton,         .         .         .  115 

The  Final  Interment, 116 

Address  by  Gilman  H.  Tucker,       .         .        .  118 

Eulogistic  Lette/s : 123 

E.  E.  White, 124 

William  T.  Harris, 126 


viii  CONTENTS. 

Eulogistic  Letters  :  PAGE 

John  G.  Whittier, 128 

John  Eaton, 128 

John  S.  Clark, 132 

Gilman  H.  Tucker, 135 

Thomas  H.  Barnes, 138 

Samuel  W.  Mason, 140 

J.  L.  Pickard, 142 

Robert  C.  Metcalf, 142 

Mary  A.  Currier, 144 

Justin  H.  Smith,  .  .  .  .  .  .145 

John  W.  Dickinson, 147 

Mellin  Chamberlain,     ......  150 

William  A.  Mowry,  .  .  .  .  0  152 

Moses  Merrill,  . 155 

Samuel  Eliot,  157 

A.  A.  Miner, 160 

O.  B.  Cheney, 162 

Hiram  Orcutt, 164 

H.  F.  Harrington,  166 

A.  P.  Marble, 167 

Henry  E.  Shepherd, 168 

A.  P.  Stone,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .170 

E.  C.  Carrigan, 171 

J.  H.  Hoose, 175 

W.  H.  Payne, 176 

International  Tribute, iSo 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE 

Boston's  Tribute, 185 

The  Masters'  Association,  .         .         .         .187 

Address  of  C.  Goodwin  Clark,  .  .  18-8 
Address  of  Robert  Swan,  .  .  .  .192 
Address  of  Joshua  Bates,  .  .  .  196 

Resolutions, 203 

The  Schoolmaster's  Club,         .         .         .         .         204 

Address  of  James  F,  Blackinton,          .         .204 
Address  of  Granville  B.  Putnam,      .         .         206 
Resolutions,  .         .         .         .         .         .210 

The  School  Committee,    .         .         .         .         .         211 

Public  Memorial  Services,  .         .         .         .     212 

Address  of  Edwin  P.  Seaver,    .  213 

Letter  of  the  Japanese  Minister,          .         .     215 

Miscellaneous  Resolutions, 219 

Department  of  Superintendence  of  the  National 

Educational  Association,  .         .         .         .219 

Trustees  of   the  Philbrick -James  Library,         .         220 

Teachers  of  Denver,  221 

Quincy  School  Association,  .  .  .  .  222 
Trustees  of  Bates  College,  ....  224 
Town  of  Deerfield, 224 


Early  Life  and  Education 

of 
JOHN   DUDLEY   PHILBRICK. 


By  Oilman  H.  Tucker. 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION 


OF 


JOHN    DUDLEY    PHILBRICK. 


BIRTH,  PARENTAGE,  AND  ANCESTRY. 

The  "  Early  Life  and  Education "  of  John  Dudley 
Philbrick  contain  the  material,  which,  in  the  hands  of  a 
master,  would  enrich  a  romance.  But  with  plain  speech, 
and  within  a  brief  space,  only  the  simplest  and  chiefest 
facts  can  be  recited. 

He  was  born  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  May,  in  the 
year  eighteen  hundred  and  eighteen.  He  always  marked 
his  birthday  by  the  time  of  the  apple-tree  blossoms,  which 
his  father  had  told  him  were,  in  this  day  and  year,  at 
their  fulness.  He  was  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  three 
children,  having  a  sister  three  years  older  and  a  brother  a 
year  and  a  half  older  than  himself. 

The  Philbricks  were  of  a  sturdy  race  of  handworkers, 
possessed  of  that  strength  and  resolution  which  come 
from  battling  with  obstacles.  Starting  out  as  pioneers 
in  subduing  a  new  country,  all  their  powers  were  taxed 
in  winning  a  subsistence  from  the  soil,  and  laying  by  a 
modest  competency  for  their  families.  Primarily  farmers, 
the  necessities  of  living  in  a  new  country  made  them 

(3) 


4  JOHN  D.   PHILDEICK. 

at  the  same  time  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  and  workers 
in  all  needed  handicraft.  They  were  independent  and 
self-respecting  men,  but  not  otherwise  distinguished. 

Peter  Philbrick,  the  father  of  John  Dudley,  was  of  the 
third  generation  which  had  occupied  the  homestead  farm 
in  Deerfield,  N.  H.,  his  grandfather,  James,  having  gone 
there  and  taken  up  and  cleared  the  wild  land,  in  the  first 
settlement  of  the  town.  Peter  was  a  man  of  individual 
character,  possessing  strong  moral  qualities  and  an  active 
intellect,  with  a  decided  religious  tendency  in  his  nature, 
and  a  touch  of  humor  and  poetry  withal.  From  his  spir- 
ituality and  power  of  natural  eloquence,  he  became  a 
leader  and  exhorting  Elder  in  his  church,  the  Free  Will 
Baptist.  In  his  homestead  he  possessed  a  fair  country 
inheritance,  but  it  was  burdened  with  a  debt,  through 
some  sharpness  and  dishonesty  that  had  been  practiced 
upon  his  predecessor.  He  was  an  industrious,  energetic, 
and  hard-working  farmer,  but  not  a  thrifty  manager,  and 
his  devotion  to  preaching  sometimes  diverted  him  from 
the  closest  attention  to  his  farm. 

With  the  hope  of  bettering  his  situation,  he  made 
several  removes,  locating  one  year  at  Epping,  another 
at  Stratham,  and  another  at  Amesbury,  Mass.,  —  when 
John  was  from  ten  to  thirteen  years  of  age,  —  with  hardly 
any  other  result  than  enlarging  the  family  horizon,  when 
they  again  returned  to  the  homestead. 

On  the  maternal  side,  through  his  mother,  Elizabeth 
Dudley,  he  came  of  a  line  of  strong  and  fine  intellectual 
fibre.  The  Dudleys  were  prominent  in  the  Eastern  Col- 
onies from  the  first  settlement  of  New  England,  as  gov- 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  5 

ernors,  judges,  ministers,  and  lawyers.  Mr.  Philbrick 
was  the  seventh  generation  in  direct  descent,  from  Gov. 
Thomas  Dudley  of  Massachusetts.  His  great-grand- 
father, Judge  John  Dudley  of  New  Hampshire,  for  whom 
he  was  named,  famous  in  that  State  during  the  period 
of  the  Revolution,  was  one  of  the  most  pronounced  char- 
acters of  his  time,  —  of  unswervable  integrity,  of  deter- 
mined will,  of  clear  foresight,  of  broad  views  and  sound 
judgment.  He  was  not  a  learned  man,  nor  much  read 
in  books,  but  Governor  Plummer  of  New  Hampshire  said 
of  him  that  he  would  sooner  trust  Judge  Dudley's  native 
faculties  to  decide  a  legal  point  right,  than  all  the  law- 
yers' learning  of  the  other  judges  put  together. 

His  grandfather,  Moses  Dudley,  was  a  remarkable  type 
of  the  New  England  country  'Squire  of  seventy-five  years 
ago,  —  wise  after  the  manner  of  Ben  Franklin,  —  who 
gave  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life  entirely  to  the  study 
and  reading  of  books.  It  was  estimated  that  he  had  read 
the  equal  of  6,000  octavo  volumes  of  400  pages  each ; 
and  his  daily  conversation  showed  the  fruits  of  this  great 
enrichment. 

His  mother  was  a  woman  of  strong  mind,  well  in- 
formed, with  a  determined  will,  with  definite  opinions 
and  the  power  of  expressing  them,  touched  also  with  an 
honest  pride  of  family  and  with  an  ambition  for  position. 

Such  was  the  descent  and  parentage  of  John  Dudley 
Philbrick,  and  he  inherited  the  best  and  strongest  quali- 
ties of  both  lines  of  his  ancestors.  In  his  character,  there 
was  never  a  better  illustration  of  the  logic  of  heredity. 

Deerfield,  N.  H.,  lies  thirty  miles  from  the  coast  and 


6  JOHN  D.   PHILBBICE. 

well  within  the  belt  of  hill  country.  This  whole  region 
is  more  attractive  and  picturesque  than  it  is  fertile,  or 
productive  under  cultivation.  Nevertheless  it  is  a  pleas- 
ant country  to  live  in  ;  but  to  live,  one  must  work,  and 
the  bounds  of  social  and  intellectual  life,  as  in  all  rural 
towns,  are  rather  narrow.  The  religious  and  political 
newspaper,  a  few  common  books,  neighborhood  visits 
and  gatherings,  occasional  visits  to  the  market-towns,  the 
town  meeting,  the  schools  and  church  meetings,  repre- 
sent about  all. 

In  this  town,  in  the  midst  of  one  of  its  loveliest  valleys, 
amid  surrounding  trees,  and  facing  the  south,  stands  the 
Philbrick  homestead,  a  large  main  house,  made  still  more 
ample  by  the  additions  of  different  generations.  My  per- 
sonal recollections  of  it,  from  the  merest  boy  up  to  this 
hour,  clothe  it  with  one  supreme  virtue,  —  the  warm 
and  generous  hospitality  which  it  always  extended  to  all 
comers. 

These  were  the  surroundings  and  this  the  home  of  this 
boy  of  fifty  and  sixty  years  ago. 

But  here,  at  this  time,  the  life  of  a  farmer's  boy, 
possessed  of  imagination  and  spirit,  doubtless,  did  not 
seem  to  the  boy  to  be  an  ideal  one.  Yet  if  somewhat 
narrow,  and  unquestionably  hard,  it  held  some  compen- 
sation. It  was  an  open,  free,  country  life,  everywhere 
adapting  itself  to  direct  the  forces  of  nature  to  the  uses 
and  comforts  of  living.  On  the  side  of  work  and  on  the 
side  of  play,  it  was  full  of  education  ;  it  made  ingenious 
hands,  strong  arms,  swift  feet,  muscular  and  well-devel- 
oped bodies.  There  was  no  question  here  of  introducing 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  7 

the  new  educational  factor,  industrial  training  ;  the  thing 
itself  was  present  in  never-ending  forms,  —  the  spring's 
work,  the  summer's  work,  the  fall  and  winter's  work. 
When  the  spring  sun  began  to  run  high  and  the  fields  of 
snow  to  melt,  the  maples  were  to  be  tapped  and  the 
season's  sugar  made  ;  then  miles  of  fence  were  to  be  re- 
paired, and  the  rocks  to  be  picked  and  hauled  from  the 
cultivated  fields  ;  then  the  dressing  was  to  be  hauled  and 
spread  upon  the  land,  to  be  followed  by  the  busy  plowing, 
sowing,  and  planting.  The  sheep  were  to  be  washed 
and  sheared,  providing  the  wool  for  home-spinning  and 
weaving,  —  for  the  women  made  all  the  woolen  cloth  for 
clothes,  and  a  surplus  to  carry  and  sell  in  distant  markets. 
The  cattle,  the  horses,  the  swine,  the  chickens  and  tur- 
keys were  a  constant  care.  Then  commenced  the  hand 
to  hand  contest  to  keep  back  the  weeds  with  the  hoe, 
until  early  July  left  the  crops  with  a  little  start  in  their 
favor,  if  rain  and  sun  should  be  kind. 

Then  came  the  midsummer  harvest  of  haying,  with  no 
machines  to  lighten  the  labor,  —  mowing,  spreading,  rak- 
ing, pitching,  hauling,  and  stowing  away,  —  every  stroke 
one  of  main  strength ;  work-days  that  began  before  sun- 
rise, and  ended  with  the  late  dusk  of  midsummer,  —  all 
this  for  five  or  six  weeks,  interrupted  only  by  lowering  or 
rainy  weather.  Then  came  cutting  the  stalks  from  the 
corn,  reaping  the  grain  with  the  sickle,  gathering  and 
husking  the  corn,  digging  and  housing  the  potatoes, 
gathering  the  apples,  and  making  the  cider  ;  and  the 
autumn  ended  with  making  all  the  buildings  tight  and 
snug  for  the  winter. 


8  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

In  the  winter,  the  season's  wood  was  to  be  cut  and 
hauled  home,  and  occasionally,  logs  to  be  hauled  to  the 
saw-mill  for  boards  and  lumber,  for  home  use  or  for  the 
market, — all  these  things,  with  the  endless  daily  chores 
of  a  farm. 

It  is  at  once  seen,  that  being  in  the  midst  of  a  life  like 
this,  early  makes  a  man  out  of  a  boy. 

But  there  were  recreations  also  :  a  day  off  fishing  or 
gunning,  a  trip  to  the  country  store,  a  journey  to  the 
market  town,  a  visit  to  relations  or  friends,  and  long  win- 
ter evenings  for  reading  and  talk. 

There  was  also  a  quiet  factor  at  work,  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all,  and  that  was  the  district  school  ;  this  kept 
three  months  in  the  summer  and  three  months  in  the 
winter.  The  boy  attended  both  until  he  was  so  large  he 
could  no  longer  be  spared  from  the  summer's  work,  and 
then  went  only  in  winter.  But,  in  the  country  phrase, 
"he  was  a  good  scholar  and  loved  his  books." 

And  with  this  education,  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  he 
was  a  man. 

ACADEMIC    LIFE. 

But  what  is  there  for  him  beyond  this  narrow  bound 
of  his  home  ?  Where  is  the  opening  through  which  the 
light  can  shine  ? 

To  quote  his  own  words  :  — 

"  This  privilege  of  going  away  to  school  at  an  academy 
seemed  to  be  something  too  high  for  me  ever  to  dream  of 
enjoying.  But  in  the  spring  of  1834  some  one  suggested 
that  I  should  go  to  Pembroke  Academy,  and  thus  the 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  9 

question  was  proposed,  —  Shall  I  stop  with  my  common 
school  education,  or  try  to  get  a  higher  education  ?  I  saw 
the  great  difficulty  of  leaving  home,  for  now  I  was  as  good 
as  a  man  on  the  farm  ;  besides,  where  was  the  money  to 
come  from  to  pay  the  expenses  ?  I  did  not  then  imagine 
it  to  be  possible  for  me  ever  to  reach  the  college.  But 
the  idea  of  acquiring  an  education  above  that  of  a  com- 
mon school,  found  lodgment  in  my  mind,  and  the  idea 
must  become  a  reality.  A  young  uncle,  though  six  or 
seven  years  older  than  myself,  was  going  to  Pembroke  to 
complete  his  fitting  for  college.  He  was  to  board  him- 
self, and  kindly  offered  to  take  me  into  the  partnership. 
This  fortunate  circumstance  turned  the  scale  in  my  favor. 
My  father,  who  had  hesitated  to  give  his  consent,  not  that 
he  did  not  value  education  but  that  he  valued  my  assist- 
ance on  the  farm  also,  seeing  that  the  opportunity  was 
too  good  to  be  lost,  yielded,  though  reluctantly  and  sadly. 
I  remember  the  day  well.  My  father,  leaving  the  team 
standing  in  the  furrow,  came  into  the  house  to  hold  a 
family  conference.  It  must  be  settled  then,  for  the  tai- 
loress  was  there,  and  if  it  was  decided  in  the  affirmative, 
she  must  be  retained  to  make  up  the  needed  garments. 
My  mother  said  yes,  though  with  some  apparent  mis- 
givings/1 

Thus,  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  went  to  Pembroke, 
N.  H.,  for  his  first  term  at  the  Academy.  In  the  four 
following  years  he  managed  to  get  five  or  six  terms,  or 
parts  of  terms,  of  twelve  to  fourteen  weeks,  at  this  school, 
and  one  term  at  Straff ord  Academy.  Between  whiles,  he 
returned  to  the  help  of  his  father  on  the  farm,  rendered 
now  all  the  more  necessary  from  the  untimely  loss  of 
his  elder  brother,  Peter,  who  died  in  1835.  This  bereave- 
ment left  a  deep  and  sorrowful  mark  on  his  early  life. 


10  JOHN  D.   PHILBBICK. 

The  brothers  were  very  near  of  an  age,  and  constant 
playmates  and  workmates.  This  brother  was  uncom- 
monly bright  and  of  a  lovely  character.  Through  life 
Mr.  Philbrick  never  ceased  to  mourn  this  loss,  and  its 
anniversary  was  always  a  sad  day  to  him.  By  this  blow 
he  became  now  his  father's  only  dependence,  and  the 
difficulty  of  his  absence  was  accordingly  increased,  but 
he  still  persevered  in  his  course. 

His  name  appears  in  the  Pembroke  catalogues  of  1834 
and  1835,  in  that  of  Strafford  in  1836,  nowhere  in  1837, 
but  again  in  the  Pembroke  catalogue  of  1838.  But  he 
was  present  at  these  schools  only  at  odd  terms. 

Pembroke  Academy,  at  this  time,  was  a  flourishing 
and  excellent  higher  seminary,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
Phillips  Academy  at  Exeter,  one  of  the  best  schools  in 
New  Hampshire.  Its  catalogue  of  1834,  a  little  pam- 
phlet of  eight  pages,  as  big  over  as  your  hand,  contains 
176  names,  divided,  to  use  its  own  words,  into  "  108 
Males  and  68  Females."  It  contains  no  regular  course 
of  study,  but  names  the  books,  in  their  order  to  be 
studied  in  preparation  for  college.  It  divides  the  year  into 
three  terms,  two  of  fourteen  weeks  each  and  one  of  six- 
teen weeks.  The  fee  for  a  certificate  of  admission  is  25 
cents.  The  tuition  for  the  two  shorter  terms  is  $4.25, 
and  for  the  longer  term  $4.87,  with  an  additional  dollar 
each  term  to  each  scholar  who  studies  the  French  lan- 
guage. The  price  of  board  is  $1.25  or  $1.50  per  week, 
but  by  walking  a  moderate  distance  from  the  Academy 
students  can  be  boarded  for  a  less  sum. 

The  catalogues  for  1835  and  1836  are  substantially  the 


EARLY  LIFE   AND  EDUCATION.  11 

same.  During  these  three  years  Joseph  Dow  was  princi- 
pal. The  catalogues  of  1837  and  1838,  when  Isaac  Kins- 
man became  principal,  show  a  marked  educational  ad- 
vance ;  three-year  courses  of  study  are  laid  out,  term 
by  term,  both  for  the  Male  and  Female  Departments. 
Some  very  pertinent  observations  are  made  under  the 
head  of  studies  and  courses.  It  is  interesting  to  quote  a 
bit  of  its  plain  English  :  — 

"  The  examination  of  compositions  and  the  rehearsals 
of  declamations  will  each  constitute  a  daily  recitation. 
The  whole  school  will  not  attend  these  recitations  to- 
gether as  a  class,  but  in  succession,  four  or  five  individ- 
uals at  a  time.  Each  composition  will  be  read  by  the 
teacher,  with  the  writer  by  his  side.  It  will  be  scruti- 
nized word  by  word  and  sentence  by  sentence.  All  its 
superfluities  and  misconceptions,  and,  so  far  as  possible, 
its  deficiencies  will  be  pointed  out.  In  oratory,  the 
scholar  will  be  drilled.  Tone,  inflection,  emphasis, 
position,  motion,  if  faulty,  will  be  criticised  on  the  spot." 

Mr.  Kinsman  was  a  thorough  and  an  inspiring  teacher, 
and  as  such  exerted  at  this  time  and  afterwards  no  little 
influence  over  the  young  student,  Philbrick.  But  the 
main  motive  which  led  him  to  persevere  at  the  academy, 
and  to  go  on  to  college,  was  the  same  which  first  started 
him  in  this  direction, —  the  sympathy  and  encouragement 
of  the  maternal  uncle,  whom  he  mentions.  This  uncle, 
in  writing  to  his  sister,  Mr.  Philbrick's  mother,  in  1838, 
says  :  — 

"I  am  extremely  glad  that  John  has  manifested  so 
much  determination  and  decision  in  pursuing  his  educa- 
tion ;  you  can  do  nothing  for  him,  in  my  opinion,  which 


12  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

will  be  of  so  much  real  and  substantial  benefit  to  him  in 
after  life,  and  for  which  he  will  ever  hold  you  in  so  grate- 
ful remembrance,  as  to  assist  and  encourage  him  in  this 
course.  He  must  enter  college  this  fall  without  fail ;  if 
he  goes  in  debt  a  few  hundred  dollars,  don't  be  scared  ; 
he  will  be  able  if  he  has  his  health,  in  one  or  two  years  at 
most,  to  clear  himself/' 

The  debt  of  gratitude  to  this  uncle,  Elbridge  G.  Dudley, 
afterward  a  lawyer  in  this  city,  was  never  forgotten. 

Writing  to  his  father  from  Pembroke,  May  2,  1835,  he 
says  he  appreciates  the  valuable  privileges  there  enjoyed 
of  intellectual  and  moral  education,  but  is  aware  that  they 
will  not  always  last,  and  that,  as  his  father  is  doubtless 
impatiently  awaiting  his  return,  he  is  using  every  ex- 
ertion to  accomplish  what  he  can  in  the  little  time  he 
has  to  stay.  Writing  later,  he  says  he  regrets  that  time 
should  fly  so  swiftly,  and  that  he  has  so  short  a  time  to 
remain.  It  appears  that  this  term  of  his  school  was  to 
close,  July  30,  and  his  father  had  expected  him  to  return 
home  by  the  Fourth  of  July,  to  assist  with  the  haying. 
In  a  letter  he  pleads  to  be  allowed  to  remain,  if  not  the 
whole  term,  at  least  until  the  nth,  and  says  he  has  good 
reason  to  hope  that  this  request  will  not  be  denied  him. 

Such  was  the  continual  struggle  which  covered  these 
four  years.  An  odd  term  or  a  part  of  a  term  at  the  acad- 
emy was  had,  when  he  could  be  released  from  helping  at 
home,  and  when  a  little  ready  money  for  expenses  could 
be  gathered  together.  To  provide  a  part  of  this  money,  he 
at  this  time  spent  his  winters  in  teaching  in  the  district 
schools  of  his  own  neighborhood..  In.  teaching  one  of 


EABLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  13 

these  schools  he  boarded  round.  One  winter  he  taught 
in  his  home  district,  where  he  had  lately  been  a  pupil. 
These  schools  were  attended  by  the  large  boys  and  girls, 
as  well  as  by  the  smaller  of  all  ages,  and  he  had  pupils 
as  old  as  or  older  than  himself.  I  have  heard  those  who 
were  pupils  at  this  school,  old  men  now  of  seventy,  within 
the  past  year,  tell  what  a  good  school  he  kept  and  how 
much  he  was  liked  as  a  master.  One  told  me  how  he 
would  go  out  and  take  part  with  the  boys  in  the  sports, 
at  noon  or  recess,  and  how  on  one  occasion  he  acci- 
dentally got  a  hard  hit  over  the  eye  with  a  snowball, 
so  that  the  eye  had  to  be  bandaged  for  the  afternoon. 
"  But,"  said  the  old  man,  "  he  made  nothing  of  it ;  I 
tell  you,  we  liked  him." 

In  1837  ne  does  not  appear  to  have  gone  away  to 
school  at  all ;  but  he  taught  in  the  winter  of  1836-1837, 
in  the  adjoining  town  of  Nottingham.  An  old  pupil  from 
this  place,  whom  he  scarcely  remembered,  writes  to  him 
fourteen  years  after  :  "  Your  memory  is  still  dear  to  the 
citizens  of  this  district;  the  school  has  not  flourished 
since  as  it  did  while  you  were  here.  Often  do  I  hear 
your  evening  school  and  exhibition  spoken  of  ;  they  left  a 
deep  and  abiding  impression  on  the  hearts  of  all  who 
attended  them." 

In  June  of  this  year,  1837,  ne  wrote  his  uncle  saying 
he  had  not  attended  school  a  single  day,  not  having 
found  any  opportunity  to  leave  home  ;  that  it  was  a  source 
of  great  anxiety  to  him  that  he  had  been  able  to  make  so 
little  progress  in  literary  pursuits,  because,  he  added,  "  I 
fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  keep  the  promise  I  made  you. 


14  JOHN  D.   PHIL  BRICK. 

I  feel  unwilling  to  lose  so  good  an  opportunity  to  go  to 
college.  For  that  reason  I  have  been  trying  to  do  all  I 
could  at  home,  but  I  have  labored  with  only  a  faint  hope 
of  success.  I  am  determined,  however,  to  persevere  in  the 
study  of  the  languages  till  I  see  you,  when  I  hope  the 
affair  will  be  settled.  Cicero  and  Sallust,  I  think  with  a 
little  study  I  can  handle,  but  Virgil  and  the  Greek 
Reader  will  go  rather  hard." 

LIFE    AT    COLLEGE. 

And  he  did  " persevere/'  and  his  "faint  hope  of  suc- 
cess "  became  a  hope  realized.  At  twenty  years  of  age, 
in  August,  1838,  he  successfully  presented  himself  for 
admission  to  Dartmouth  College.  This  was  a  proud  day 
for  the  struggling  student.  He  says  in  a  letter  written 
at  the  time :  "  I  went  to  the  president  and  applied  for 
admission.  I  was  immediately  admitted  to  examination 
on  presenting  my  recommendation,  and  was  directed  to 
two  professors,  to  have  the  business  "done  up."  Latin 
went  easy,  as  well  as  Algebra,  but  Greek  did  not  go  quite 
so  smooth,  though  my  examination  was  on  the  whole  by 
no  means  a  severe  one.  I,  of  course,  had  to  promise  to 
make  up  that  part  of  the  Greek  Reader  I  had  not  read, 
and  also  the  four  Gospels.  The  others  from  Pembroke 
had  to  do  the  same." 

He  at  once  set  about  to  procure  lodgings,  and  writes 
that  he  and  his  roommate  have  two  very  delightful 
rooms,  one  of  which  they  used  for  a  sleeping-room, 
clothes-press,  and  woodhouse,  and  the  other  for  a  study- 
room.  For  their  furniture  they  paid  twelve  dollars, 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  15 

having  determined  to  get  that  which  was  decent  and 
durable.  The  price  of  board  is  $1.58  per  week,  or,  with- 
out tea  and  coffee,  $1.42.  He  states  that  he  is  highly 
pleased  with  his  situation,  and  that  his  most  sanguine 
expectations  are  fully  realized,  and  even  far  excelled. 
He  describes  his  routine  of  study,  and  says  a  college  is 
the  place  to  learn.  Here  there  are  no  impediments  and 
every  necessary  facility  ;  if  the  same  prosperity  which 
has  now  dawned,  continues,  his  college  course  will  be  a 
happy  one,  and  if  he  is  permitted  to  go  through,  it  will 
be  the  May- day  of  his  life. 

He  entered  a  freshman  class  of  101,  the  largest  the 
college  had,  up  to  that  time,  seen.  The  class  con- 
tained many  bright  young  men,  most  of  whom  had  been 
much  more  thoroughly  prepared  than  himself.  Here  he 
remained  throughout  the  course,  availing  himself,  how- 
ever, of  the  permission  to  be  absent  winters  for  the 
purpose  of  teaching,  These  absences  were,  however, 
sometimes  prolonged  in  his  case,  by  cutting  off  from  the 
end  of  the  fall  term  or  the  beginning  of  the  spring  term. 
By  the  money  earned  in  this  teaching  and  by  small  loans 
he  procured  from  time  to  time,  he  paid  his  own  way 
throughout  the  course.  The  college  expenses  at  that 
time  were  not  heavy.  I  observe  that  those  which  were 
classed  as  necessary,  not  including  contingent,  are  fixed 
in  the  catalogue  of  1838,  at  $106,24.  But  there  were 
many  contingent  expenses,  amounting  to  more,  per- 
haps, than  the  amount  named.  In  these  he  practiced 
the  strictest  economy.  He  traveled  back  and  forth 
from  home  sometimes  by  stage,  sometimes  by  private 


16  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

conveyance,  and  often  walked  long  distances  to  make 
these  connections.  His  clothes  were  made  at  home, 
usually  out  of  store  cloth,  which  had  been  procured  by 
his  mother's  exchanging  homespun  of  her  own  make,  by 
carrying  it  for  this  purpose  thirty  miles  to  a  market  town. 

At  this  time  Dr.  Nathan  Lord  was  president  of  Dart- 
mouth College,  a  man  known  for  his  strong  character  and 
wide  scholarship ;  and  there  was  an  uncommonly  able 
corps  of  professors,  many  of  them  excellent  teachers; 
Charles  B.  Hadduck,  Alpheus  Crosby,  Ira  Young,  Edwin 
D.  Sanborn,  O.  P.  Hubbard,  Stephen  Chase,  and  Samuel 
Gilman  Brown. 

He  had  entered  college  with  the  highest  appreciation 
of  its  advantages ;  the  struggle  to  reach  its  doors  had  been 
long,  difficult,  and  uncertain.  He  knew  what  it  had  cost 
to  get  there,  he  knew  how  much  it  would  cost  to  remain, 
and  therefore  he  valued  it.  He  was  determined  to  make 
the  best  use  of  its  every  opportunity.  He  brought  with 
him  health,  energy,  industry,  perseverance,  courage,  and 
ambition ;  and  as  a  solid  basis  for  these,  integrity  and 
every  strong  moral  quality.  What  followed  was  a  matter 
of  course  ;  he  was  a  thorough  and  faithful  student,  always 
acquitting  himself  well  in  the  recitation  room,  and  pres- 
ent at  every  required  exercise. 

He  also  availed  himself  of  every  privilege  outside  of 
the  mere  routine.  He  was  active  in  the  literary  societies, 
frequently  writing  and  speaking,  and  especially  ambitious 
to  excel  in  these  respects.  In  the  time  left  over,  he  pur- 
sued a  ^thorough  course  of  reading,  embracing  chiefly 
history,  romance,  and  poetry.  This  reading  he  followed 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  17 

up  with  continuous  assiduity  in  his  lengthened  absences 
from  the  college. 

He  was  by  no  means  indifferent  to  such  recreations 
and  athletic  sports  as  then  prevailed  among  the  students. 
His  favorite  recreation  was  walking,  for  which  the  coun- 
try surrounding  the  college  is  so  inviting ;  and  he  made 
many  excursions  among  its  hills  and  valleys.  In  the  warm 
season,  -swimming  in  the  adjacent  Connecticut  River  was 
one  of  the  college  pastimes,  and  he  became  an  adept  in 
this  art.  It  is  noted  by  one  of  his  classmates  that  in 
swimming  a  mile  stretch,  though  taken  with  the  cramp, 
he  refused  to  be  taken  into  the  accompanying  boat,  but 
"  kicked  it  out."  He  took  pleasure  in  the  military  com- 
pany organized  among  the  students,  and  from  his  love  of 
obedience  and  discipline  and  his  inclination  to  command, 
always  had  a  fondness  for  this  service.  He  was  inter- 
ested also  in  politics,  and  near  the  end  of  his  course 
was  elected  president  of  the  college  democratic  club. 

He  was  an  actor  in  a  dramatic  incident,  which  occurred 
near  the  close  of  his  junior  fall,  in  the  presidential 
election  of  1840.  He  was  now  22  years  of  age,  an 
ardent  democrat,  but  had  never  voted.  He  determined 
at  this  time  to  cast  his  first  ballot.  To  do  this  he  re- 
turned from  Hanover  to  Deerfield,  a  distance  of  seventy- 
five  miles  by  stage,  leaving  on  the  last  day  of  October 
and  arriving  at  Concord,  on  his  way,  at  half-past  one 
o'clock  the  same  night.  He  at  once  set  out  alone  on 
foot  for  Deerfield,  still  twenty  miles  distant,  meeting,  as 
he  says,  the  rising  sun  on  the  summit  of  Prescott's  Hill, 
four  miles  away,  and  arriving  at  home  just  in  season  for 


18  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

breakfast.  The  election  was  next  day,  and  he  was  on 
hand.  Party  spirit  ran  high,  and  the  voting  list  was 
closely  scrutinized  by  both  sides.  There  was  at  that 
time  living  with  his  father,  as  a  cheap  hired  hand,  an 
ignorant  but  fairly  intelligent  fellow,  named  Francis  York. 
He  had  been  brought  up  in  the  poorhouse  of  an  adjoin- 
ing town,  but  for  the  past  eight  years  had  been  self-sup- 
porting. The  Whig  magnate  of  Deerfield,  a  lawyer  of 
distinguished  family  and  influence,  overawed  the  select- 
men, and  induced  them  to  strike  York's  name  from  the 
voting  list,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  a  town  pauper. 
Upon  this,  young  Philbrick  stepped  up  and  protested 
against  the  act.  Amid  the  great  crowd  of  assembled 
voters  he  spoke  for  eight  or  ten  minutes,  with  an  ear- 
nestness that  filled  them  with  astonishment.  York's 
name  was  quickly  restored  to  the  list.  John  went  back 
home,  brought  York  to  the  town  meeting,  and  saw  that 
he  deposited  his  vote. 

" To-day,"  said  he,  "has  been  the  most  glorious  day  of 
my  life.  I  have  emancipated  a  man  and  defended  his 
rights." 

On  the  whole  he  stood  high  at  college  as  a  man  and 
scholar,  —  among  the  first,  —  but  was  not  distinguished 
otherwise  than  for  his  sterling  qualities.  One  of  his 
classmates  writes  that  he  was  not  so  conspicuous  in  any 
respect,  compared  with  the  average  of  his  class,  as  to  lead 
to  expectations  of  his  career  of  distinction.  He  was  un- 
assuming, prompt  in  his  exercises,  doing  justice  to  the 
subject  and  credit  to  himself,  writes  another  classmate. 
Another  says  he  was  a  resolute,  plucky  fellow,  and  upon 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  19 

an  attempt  made  to  haze  his  roommate  by  some  of  the 
sophomores,  when  he  was  a  freshman,  his  assailants  went 
down  stairs  very  much  in  a  hurry,  followed  by  sundry 
billets  of  wood,  and  very  much  worsted.  I  may  add  that 
when  this  incursion  of  four  masked  and  cloaked  soph- 
omores was  made  into  his  room,  he  was  engaged  in 
writing  a  letter  home,  which  letter  I  have  seen.  With 
the  few  minutes'  interruption  necessary  to  put  out  the 
intruders  and  throw  them  down  stairs,  he  calmly  resumed 
his  writing,  with  as  firm  a  hand  as  ever,  only  incidentally 
mentioning  this  little  disturbance,  and  saying  that  he 
"  pounced  upon  these  fellows  like  an  eagle  upon  his 
prey." 

Another  classmate  writes  :  "  The  most  marked  charac- 
teristics of  all  which  I  remember  were  his  ambition  and 
energy  ;  the  former  trait  led  me  once  to  say  to  him  that 
I  thought  nothing  but  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States  would  satisfy  him.  There  was  the  same  enthu- 
siasm in  everything  that  he  undertook  at  that  time  that 
he  showed  in  all  his  after  life,  Firm  in  his  opinions  and 
tenacious  of  his  rights,  he  had  also  exceeding  good-nature 
and  kindness  of  heart/' 

His  classmate,  the  Hon.  George  Walker,  now  and  for  a 
long  time,  United  States  Consul  General  at  Paris,  in  an 
interesting  letter,  states  :  "  I  remember  him  particularly 
well  as  a  steady,  studious  man  of  high  character  and 
dignified  manners.  I  have  the  impression  that  he  was 
a  good  scholar.  I  should  say  that  he  was  a  man  who 
was  always  growing,  never  rapidly,  but  assimilating  what 
he  learned,  and  becoming  every  year  that  I  knew  him 
stronger  and  more  capable  of  useful  work." 


20  JOHN  D.  PH1LBRICK. 

Another  classmate,  Dr.  J.  Baxter  Upham,  writes : 
"  Everything  he  did,  was  well  and  thoroughly  done.  He 
was  a  ready  speaker  and  an  excellent  writer,  a  good 
scholar,  one  of  the  best  in  the  division  in  which  we  were 
together.  He  was  also  noted  for  his  honor,  integrity, 
and  straightforwardness.  He  would  not  stoop  to  do  a 
low  or  mean  thing.  He  also  had  pluck,  boldness,  and 
courage,  though  he  was  as  gentle  and  kind  as  he  was 
brave." 

His  senior  year  in  college  was  very  much  shortened  by 
his  prolonged  absences  for  teaching.  He  left  Dartmouth, 
as  he  records,  early  in  November  of  his  senior  year,  with- 
out leave  or  license,  and  did  not  return  until  the  last  day 
of  the  following  May.  On  presenting  his  excuse  to  the 
president  for  this  extended  absence,  he  states  that  it  was 
immediately  accepted  and  no  questions  asked.  What  that 
excuse  was  we  can  readily  infer :  it  was  the  necessity  of 
earning  his  own  way.  Still  under  this  pressure  for  funds, 
even  now  immediately  upon  his  return  to  college,  he  was 
casting  about  for  a  location  to  teach  after  he  should 
graduate. 

It  should  be  said  here  in  explanation  of  the  extreme 
pressure  he  felt  for  earning  money,  that  he  not  only 
supported  himself  at  school  and  college,  but  helped  his 
sister  to  obtain  a  liberal  education,  and  was  so  keenly 
sensitive  to  his  filial  obligations,  that  from  time  to  time 
he  provided  his  father  with  help  upon  the  farm  to  com- 
pensate for  his  own  necessary  absence.  Indeed,  it  was 
"  the  custom  of  the  country  "  for  boys  to  help,  and  not 
be  helped ;  and  money  was  much  more  scarce,  valuable, 
and  hard  to  get  than  it  is  now. 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  21 

His  mind  at  this  time,  as  the  end  of  his  college  course 
was  approaching,  was  filled  with  thoughts  and  plans  for  the 
future.  His  determination  and  confident  expectation 
from  the  time  he  first  went  away  to  school  up  to  the 
close  of  his  senior  year  in  college,  had  been  to  study  and 
pursue  the  profession  of  the  law  ;  indeed,  at  this  time  he 
had  already  begun  its  earnest  reading.  Returning  home 
from  his  senior  fall,  he  makes  this  note  on  the  eleventh 
of  November,  1841  :  — 

"  This  evening  I  kindled  a  fire  in  the  west  room,  filled 
my  lamp,  seated  myself  in  grandfather's  old  arm-chair, 
and  commenced  in  earnest  the  study  of  my  profession,  by 
reading  the  forty-fourth  chapter  of  Gibbon's  Rome,  which 
treats  of  Roman  jurisprudence." 

This  study  of  the  law  he  continued  in  the  leisure  hours 
from  his  teaching  for  several  years  after  quitting  college, 
reading  all  of  the  elementary  and  many  of  the  advanced 
treatises  on  this  science.  But  though  better  qualified 
than  most  applicants,  he  never  sought  admission  to  the 
Bar.  He  did  not,  however,  give  up  the  idea  of  following 
this  profession,  for  which  he  had  a  strong  inclination  and 
many  marked  qualifications,  but  fully  intended  to  pursue 
it,  until  he  became  master  of  the  Quincy  School,  in  1847. 

But  to  return  to  his  outlook  from  college  at  the  close 
of  his  course.  His  mind  was  full  of  projects ;  he  had  a 
strong  inclination  to  go  to  Virginia,  or  some  part  of  the 
South.  He  was  offered  the  Yarmouth  Academy  on  Cape 
Cod  ;  he  was  invited  to  share  the  management  of  the 
Gymnasium,  at  Pembroke,  by  Mr.  Kinsman.  He  con- 
sidered the  plan  of  starting  a  high  school  in  his  native 


22  JOHN  D.   PHILBKICK. 

town.  The  thing  that  he  most  wanted  to  do  was  to  con- 
tinue his  study  of  the  law,  and  his  plan  for  this  was  to 
enter  the  office  of  Franklin  Pierce,  at  Concord,  N.  H. 

Everything  had  to  give  way,  however,  to  the  pressing 
and  immediate  need  for  funds,  and  he  chose  the  most 
promising  opening  in  this  respect.  Through  the  friends 
he  had  made  at  Danvers,  Mass.,  he  was  now  offered  a 
position  as  assistant  in  a  private  institution,  the  Roxbury, 
Mass.,  Latin  School,  which  he  at  once  accepted.  It  is 
curious  to  note  that  his  ancestor,  Governor  Thomas 
Dudley,  was  one  of  the  chief  founders  of  this  school  in 
1645.  Following  the  matter  up  immediately,  that  the 
place  might  be  secured  beyond  contingency,  he  left 
Dartmouth  on  the  last  day  of  June,  having  remained 
there  in  his  senior  summer  just  one  month.  His  last 
year  in  college,  therefore,  consisted  of  an  attendance 
there  of  about  three  months  only.  Under  the  rules, 
owing  to  these  absences,  he  could  not  graduate  with  his 
class,  but  by  making  up  the  deficient  studies,  he  was 
accorded  an  examination  at  the  next  Commencement, 
and  given  a  diploma  of  the  date  of  his  class. 

MB.  PHILBRICK'S  EARLY  EXPERIENCE  Iff  TEACHING. 

On  the  principle  that  one  learns  by  doing,  a  very  im- 
portant part  of  Mr.  Philbrick's  education  came  from  the 
relation  where  he  was  teacher  instead  of  pupil.  As  we 
have  seen,  during  the  course  of  his  preparation  for  col- 
lege, and  while  there,  he  taught  seven  winter  district 
schools  and  one  term  at  an  academy.  The  primary  ob- 
ject had  in  view  was  to  get  funds  to  pay  for  his  own 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  23 

schooling,  but  the  secondary  object  attained  was  even 
more  important.  He  was  educating  himself  as  well  as 
instructing  others,  and  unconsciously  bending  his  mind 
in  a  direction  which  led  to  the  final  choice  of  his  life 
pursuit. 

He  taught  first  in  the  intervals  of  his  fragmentary  at- 
tendance at  the  Academy  for  two  or  three  successive 
winters,  in  the  district  schools  of  the  vicinity  of  his 
home.  In  his  residence  at  Pembroke  Academy,  he  had 
become  acquainted  with  several  members  of  the  family  of 
Putnam,  who  came  from  Danvers,  Mass.  Led  by  this 
acquaintance,  and  hope  of  help  from  it  in  securing  a 
position,  he  started  out  at  the  end  of  his  freshman  fall  to 
look  for  a  school  in  this  town  or  its  vicinity.  He  had 
no  difficulty  in  obtaining  one  through  these  friends,  and 
was  engaged  to  teach  in  their  own  district.  This  same 
school  he  taught  for  three  successive  winters.  While 
here,  he  became  acquainted  with  his  fellow  teachers  in 
Danvers  and  in  the  near  vicinity,  especially  at  Salem. 
He  visited  their  schools  and  met  them  in  social  meetings, 
finding  among  them  several  superior  men.  In  this  old 
county  in  Massachusetts,  he  found  a  set  of  schools  of 
much  greater  excellence  than  the  country  schools  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  in  New  Hampshire.  He  was  always 
very  enthusiastic  and  devoted  to  whatever  he  was  en- 
gaged in,  and  ambitious,  as  well,  to  excel  in  his  work. 
His  uniform  and  continuous  success  in  managing  and 
instructing  inspired  him  with  confidence  in  his  ability, 
and  these  surroundings  afforded  every  incitement  for  him 
to  do  his  best.  He  observed  and  studied  the  methods  in 


24  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

the  best  schools  which  he  visited,  and  by  himself  striving 
to  excel  them,  became  much  interested  in  the  subject  of 
education  itself.  Desiring  to  improve  the  schools  of  his 
native  town,  on  his  return  to  it,  from  these  winter  expe- 
ditions, he  held  meetings  in  the  school-houses  of  the 
different  districts,  and  lectured  to  the  people  on  the  sub- 
ject of  common  school  education,  and  the  last  winter  of 
his  college  course,  returned  to  Deerfield  to  take  charge 
of  the  school  in  one  of  the  largest  districts,  that  he 
might  exemplify  the  improvements  in  teaching,  which 
he  had  learned  in  Massachusetts.  At  the  close  of  his 
school  there  in  February,  1842,  he  was  invited  by  Mr. 
Kinsman,  his  old  principal  at  Pembroke,  to  take  the  place 
of  assistant  in  the  new  Gymnasium  there,  which  Mr. 
Kinsman  had  started  as  a  secession  from  the  old  acad- 
emy. He  accepted  this  position,  remaining  at  Pembroke 
until  the  last  of  May,  before  returning  again  to  college. 
He  made  so  marked  a  success  in  this  place,  that  two  or 
three  years  later,  upon  the  place  of  principal  becoming 
vacant,  he  was  invited  by  the  trustees  to  occupy  it,  which 
offer,  however,  he  was  not  able  to  accept. 

This  comprised  the  whole  course  of  his  teaching,  while 
he  was  engaged  in  his  own  school  and  college  studies. 
It  had  aroused  his  mind  to  the  importance  of  this  pursuit, 
and  in  becoming  a  teacher,  he  had  learned  the  great  les- 
son of  how  to  become  a  student ;  and  in  his  associations 
in  Essex  County,  he  found  himself  a  part  of  a  teaching 
fraternity,  and  of  a  social  society,  which  in  intelligence 
and  cultivation,  exceeded  everything  in  his  previous  ex-, 
perience,  and  these  influences  left  a  deep  impression 
upon  him. 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  25 

It  was  here  too,  and  in  the  old  and  honored  family  of 
Putnams,  that  he  formed  an  attachment  which  had  great 
influence  for  good  on  his  future ;  and  on  the  24th  of 
August,  1843,  while  teaching  in  Roxbury,  he  married 
Miss  Julia  A.  Putnam  of  Danvers.  The  union  proved  a 
most  happy  one,  and  thus  for  forty-three  years  he  had  the 
cherishing  support  of  a  true  helpmeet,  and  the  comfort 
and  joy  of  an  ideal  home. 

TEACHING  IN  ROXBURY  AND  BOSTON. 

In  any  complete  account  of  Mr.  Philbrick's  education 
and  growth,  there  must  be  mentioned  his  first  five  years 
of  teaching  in  Roxbury  and  Boston.  Beginning  as  an 
assistant  in  a  private  school  in  Roxbury,  upon  leaving 
college  in  1842,  he  successively  filled  various  positions, 
always  exchanging  a  good  place  for  a  better  one,  until, 
in  1847,  he  reached  the  Mastership  of  the  Quincy  School, 
that  first  united  and  complete  grammar  school,  which 
marked  so  important  an  era  in  the  school  system  of 
Boston. 

It  was  not  until  this  time,  I  think,  that  he  had  discov- 
ered his  full  abilities  in  the  line  of  education,  or  had 
appreciated  the  importance  and  vastness  of  this  subject, 
and  its  moral  incentives  for  a  high  career. 

His  intellectual,  moral,  and  social  growth  during  his 
college  course  had  been  very  great,  but  during  this  five- 
year  period  it  was  hardly  less  than  marvelous.  Coming 
as  a  young  man  from  the  country  into  the  quick  intel- 
lectual life  of  a  cultivated  city,  and  by  his  surroundings 
thrown  into  congenial  and  intelligent  society,  through 


26  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

his  keenness  and  aptness  he  assimilated  all  that  was 
best.  Here  he  found  a  new  education  ;  the  college  had 
enlarged  itself  into  a  city,  and  the  city  again  into  a  world. 
In  his  apprenticeship  in  teaching  he  owed  much  to 
Thomas  Sherwin,  Master  of  the  English  High  School  in 
Boston,  where  he  was  for  two  years  as  assistant. 

But  the  one  man  to  whom  he  owed  more  than  to  all 
others,  in  this  time,  was  Dr.  George  Putnam,  then  min- 
ister of  the  Unitarian  Church  in  Roxbury.  The  preach- 
ing and  teachings  of  this  great  man,  whose  friendship 
and  confidence  had  been  secured  by  the  solid  and  attract- 
ive qualities  of  this  young  man,  and  his  influence  in 
close  personal  intercourse,  left  a  deep  and  lasting  impres- 
sion upon  Mr.  Philbrick's  character.  The  determined 
ambition  with  which  he  had  started  out  to  pursue  and 
obtain  the  most  obvious  prizes  of  life  was  transformed 
into  a  lofty  ambition  to  attempt  only  the  most  worthy 
objects,  and  to  pursue  a  course  which,  first  of  all,  should 
be  of  benefit  to  mankind. 

CONCLUSION. 

Thus  his  love  of  teaching,  his  eminent  success  in  it, 
the  gradual  opening  out  of  its  great  possibilities,  lighted 
up  by  this  new  ambition,  led  him  to  adopt  the  profession 
of  Education  as  a  life  career. 

With  his  schooling  in  the  little  country  district,  with 
his  severe  training  upon  the  farm,  continuing  at  intervals 
up  to  the  age  of  twenty-four  ;  with  his  academic  life, 
struggled  and  fought  for  and  obtained  in  fragments  ; 
with  his  college  course,  full  of  patient,  industrious,  and 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  27 

successful  study  ;  with  his  eight  terms  of  teaching, 
stretching  through  nearly  as  many  years  ;  with  his  first 
five  years  of  teaching  in  Roxbury  and  this  city,  so  full 
of  opportunity  and  culture, — we  find  him  at  length 
standing,  a  young  man  of  twenty-nine,  equipped  for  his 
life  work,  at  the  head  of  the  first  united  grammar  school 
in  the  city  of  Boston. 

In  the  ripeness  of  his  manhood  he  looked  back  upon 
this  formative  period  of  his  youth  through  the  fine,  ideal 
glow  of  distance, — its  adversities,  its  struggles,  its  tri- 
umphs,—  as  a  thing  wholly  apart  from  himself;  but 
every  aspiring  youth,  —  nay,  the  whole  human  family  of 
children, — was  to  him  the  type  of  this  striving  boy, 
reaching  out  for  instruction  and  knowledge,  while  his  was 
the  duty  to  answer  this  call,  by  upbuilding  and  establish- 
ing the  wisest  methods  of  a  broad  education. 


Life  and  Character 
of 


JOHN    DUDLEY   PHILBRIGK. 


By  Larkin  Dunton,  LL.D.  . 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 

OF 

JOHN   D.   PHILBRICK. 


John  Dudley  Philbrick  was  born  in  Deerfield,  New 
Hampshire,  May  27,  1818.  He  was  the  son  of  Elder 
Peter  Philbrick,  a  clergyman  of  the  Freewill  Baptist 
denomination,  and  Betsey  Dudley. 

He  fitted  for  college  at  Pembroke  Academy,  in  Pem- 
broke, New  Hampshire,  with  the  exception  of  two  terms 
spent  in  study  at  Stratford,  New  Hampshire.  He  was 
graduated  from  Dartmouth  College  in  1842. 

He  was  a  teacher  in  the  Roxbury  Latin  School,  at 
Roxbury,  now  a  part  of  Boston,  in  1842  and  1843.  He 
was  made  a  teacher  in  the  English  High  School  in  Boston 
in  1844,  and  the  next  year  was  chosen  principal  of  the 
Mayhew  School  in  Boston,  which  position  he  occupied 
till  elected  master  of  the  then  new  grammar  school  in 
Boston,  called  the  Quincy  School,  in  1847.  He  served 
as  master  there  from  1847  to  l%$2- 

During  the  early  years  of  his  teaching  in  Boston,  he 
studied  law  to  some  extent,  and,  contrary  to  the  com. 
monly  expressed  opinion,  it  was  not  till  1847,  tne  vear 

(31) 


32  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

that  he  took  charge  of  the  Quincy  school,  that  he  decided 
to  adopt  education  as  a  profession. 

He  was  called  from  Boston  to  the  State  Normal  School 
at  New  Britain,  Connecticut,  and  served  there  as  principal 
in  1853  and  1854.  He  was  superintendent  of  the  public 
schools  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  in  1855  and  1856. 

He  was  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of  Boston, 
from  December  22,  1856,  to  September  i,  1874,  and  from 
March  I,  1875,  to  March  I,  1878. 

He  was  agent  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of 
Education  during  a  part  of  1875-1876,  in  charge  of 
the  preparation  of  the  Exhibition  of  the  Education  and 
Science  of  the  State  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  at 
Philadelphia ;  Massachusetts  Special  Commissioner  of 
Education,  and  United  States  Honorary  Commissioner, 
and  Member  of  the  International  Jury,  at  the  Vienna 
Exposition  in  1873;  and  Director  of  the  United  States 
Exhibition  and  Member  of  the  International  Jury,  at  the 
Paris  Exposition,  in  1878. 

He  was  at  different  times  one  of  the  editors  of  the 
Massachusetts  Teacher.  He  was  also  editor  of  the  Con- 
necticut Common  School  Journal  for  two  or  three  years, 
when  employed  in  that  State. 

The  following  are  among  his  published  works  :  —  An- 
nual Reports  of  the  Public  Schools  of  the  State  of  Con- 
necticut for  1855  and  1856;  twelve  quarterly  and  thirty- 
three  semi-annual  Reports  of  the  Public  Schools  of 
Boston,  and  several  special  reports  relating  to  these 
schools,  printed  in  the  annual  volumes  of  the  Reports 
of  the  School  Committee  of  Boston  from  1857  to  1878 


LIFE  AND   CHAEACTEE.  33 

inclusive  ;  the  Reports  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board 
of  Education  to  the  Legislature  for  the  years  1865  and 
1872;  Report  as  Director  of  the  United  States  Exhi- 
bition at  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1878,  printed  with  Re- 
ports of  the  Commissioner  in  Chief ;  article  Etats  Unis, 
Dictionaire  de  Pedagogic  Paris ;  several  lectures  and 
papers  printed  in  the  volumes  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Instruction,  of  the  National  Educational  Association, 
and  circulars  of  the  National  Bureau  of  Education ; 
articles  for  the  Atlantic  Monthly  and  North  American 
Review,  1881 ;  Catalogue  of  the  United  States  Exhibition 
at  Paris,  1878  (pp.  124),  London  :  printed  at  the  Ches- 
wich  Press;  American  Union  Speaker  (pp.  588),  Boston, 
1865,  and  second  edition  (pp.  536),  Boston,  1876;  the 
Primary  Union  Speaker  (pp.  no),  Boston;  City  School 
Systems  in  the  United  States,  published  by  the  Bureau 
of  Education,  1885  ;  and  School  Reports  printed  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Council,  1885. 

I  am  not  certain  that  the  list  is  complete ;  but  it  does 
not  include  a  considerable  number  of  unpublished  lect- 
ures and  addresses. 

Dr.  Philbrick  was  president  of  the  Connecticut  State 
Teachers'  Association,  the  Massachusetts  State  Teach- 
ers' Association,  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction, 
and  the  National  Educational  Association.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  National  Council  of  Education,  member 
of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education  for  ten  years, 
member  of  the  government  of  the  Institute  of  Technol- 
ogy from  its  establishment  in  1861  to  the  time  of  his 
death,  and  a  trustee  of  Bates  College  for  ten  years. 


34  JOHN  D.  PHILBBICK. 

He  received  the  degree  of  LL.D.  from  Bates  College 
in  1872,  and  from  St.  Andrew's  University,  Scotland, 
in  1879;  was  made  Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
France,  1878,  and  also  received  the  Gold  Palm  of  the 
University  of  France,  with  the  title  Officier  d*  Instruc- 
tion Publique. 

Probably  none  of  these  titles  and  their  accompanying 
diplomas  afforded  him  so  much  pleasure  as  a  "  Reward  of 
Merit,"  received  from  his  first  teacher,  who  occupied  the 
"  little  red  schoolhouse  on  the  hill,"  in  School  District 
No.  I,  in  his  native  town.  Dr.  Philbrick  remembered 
this  school  district  in  his  will.  A  quarter  part  of  the 
income  from  the  money  which  he  has  left  to  the  town  of 
Deerfield  is  to  be  given  annually  to  this  district,  "in 
addition  to  its  legal  share  of  school  money."  The  reward 
of  merit  read  as  follows  : — 

This  may  certify  that  John  Philbrick  is  at  the  head  of 
class  No.  2,  and  for  his  good  behavior  and  laudable  im- 
provement the  week  past  has  the  approbation  of  his  teacher, 

RUTH  BAILEY. 

Deerfield,  July  2,  1824. 

His  foreign  travels  in  1873  included  visits  to  Liver- 
pool, London,  Paris,  Vienna,  Prague,  the  principal  cities 
of  Germany,  and  Brussels  ;  and  in  1878,  France,  Eng- 
land, and  Scotland. 

Such  are  the  positions  he  held,  the  works  he  wrote, 
and  the  marks  of  honor  he  received.  Let  us  now  exam- 
ine with  more  care  some  of  the  results  of  his  labors. 

Like  many  of  the  older  teachers  of  New  England,  he 
laid  the  foundation  for  his  future  success  in  the  old  dis- 


LIFE  AND   CHABACTEE.  35 

trict  school.  He  taught  in  such  a  district  in  the  town  of 
Danvers,  Massachusetts,  several  winters  while  in  college. 
Here  he  was  noted  for  his  devotion  to  his  school,  and  for 
his  interest  in  a  small  society  of  teachers  of  the  town, 
mostly  college  students  like  himself,  who  used  to  meet 
in  various  parts  of  the  town  for  mutual  help  in  regard 
to  their  professional  work.  The  lessons  of  professional 
help  from  association  and  conference  that  he  here  learned 
from  experience,  he  never  forgot.  Perhaps  there  is  not 
a  man  in  this  country  who  has  contributed  so  largely 
of  time,  travel,  and  talent  to  the  various  associations  of 
teachers  in  the  country  as  our  lamented  friend.  With 
what  patience,  and  interest,  too,  he  listened  to  the  essays 
and  discussions  of  others.  For  he  welcomed  free  inter- 
change of  views  as  the  best  means  of  clarifying  one's 
own  xmind.  He  was  the  most  sincere  lover  of  criticism, 
even  adverse  criticism,  that  I  have  ever  known.  How 
often  I  have  heard  him  say,  "  We  should  be  thankful  for 
the  criticisms  of  our  enemies ;  for  our  enemies  will  tell 
us  our  faults,  a  thing  which  our  friends  are  reluctant 
to  do." 

Then  what  deference  he  always  paid  to  the  opinions  of 
those  whose  wisdom  and  experience  entitled  them  to  con- 
sideration. He  had  no  patience  with  educational  char- 
latanism ;  but  for  a  sincere  student,  for  honest  expe- 
rience, his  respect  was  genuine.  How  many  of  us  have 
been  encouraged  to  excel  ourselves  by  his  appreciative 
consideration  of  our  opinions  based  on  careful  obser- 
vation. This  spirit  made  him  both  a  teacher  and  a 
learner  at  our  conventions. 


36  JOHN  D.   PHZLBKICK. 

Of  Dr.  Philbrick's  work  in  Connecticut  I  will  let 
Charles  Northend  speak  :  — 

"He  came  here  [New  Britain]  in  1852,  at  the  request 
of  Dr.  Barnard,  to  take  charge  of  the  State  Normal 
School,  a  position  he  filled  with  rare  ability  and  success. 
Some  two  years  later,  Dr.  Barnard  resigned  the  State 
superintendency  of  schools,  and,  on  his  recommendation, 
Mr.  Philbrick  was  made  State  Superintendent  of  Schools 
and  principal  of  the  Normal  School.  Of  him  at  this  time 
Dr.  Barnard  wrote  to  the  president  of  the  State  Teachers' 
Association  as  follows :  '  Mr.  Philbrick  is  a  wise,  prac- 
tical teacher,  of  large  personal  experience  in  every  de- 
partment of  the  educational  field,  and  has  shown  himself 
willing  to  labor  '  in  season  and  out  of  season,'  and  to 
< spend  and  be  spent'  in  the  cause  of  popular  education. 
He  enjoys  the  highest  respect  and  love  of  the  teachers, 
and  by  his  ability,  common  sense,  and  devotion  to  his 
duties  will  deserve  and  secure  the  confidence  and  co- 
operation of  the  people  of  the  State.' 

"  Mr.  Philbrick  remained  in  this  State  about  five  years, 
greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the  Normal  School  and  to  the 
cause  of  education  throughout  the  State,  and  when,  in 
1857,  he  resigned  his  position  here  to  accept  the  superin- 
tendency of  the  schools  of  Boston,  it  was  greatly  to  the 
regret  of  the  friends  of  progress  in  school  work ;  but 
brief  as  his  stay  was  here,  he  was  instrumental  of  great 
and  lasting  good. 

"  I  will  close  this  article  by  naming  two  or  three  par- 
ticulars in  which  Dr.  Philbrick  excelled,  and  to  which  his 
great  usefulness  and  eminent  success  were  largely  owing  : 

"  i.  He  was  a  perfect  gentleman,  —  always  courteous, 
and  kind,  and  winning  in  his  manner,  by  which  he  both 
made  and  retained  friends. 

"  2.  He  was  a  man  of  great  earnestness,  sound  common 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER.  37 

sense,  and  good  judgment;  a  man  of  great  firmness  and 
persistent  effort  in  the  execution  of  his  views  and  plans. 
"3.  Dr.  Philbrick  had  the  rare  faculty  of  gaining  the 
good-will  and  hearty  co-operation  of  all  in  any  way  asso- 
ciated with  him.  He  always  most  cheerfully  accorded  to 
all  their  full  share  of  merit  for  what  they  did,  and  inspired 
them  with  the  feeling  that  he  was  their  true  friend." 

Dr.  Philbrick's  first  important  work  in  Boston  was  in 
making  the  Quincy  school  a  success.  To  understand  the 
significance  of  this  work,  we  must  remember  that  the 
organization  of  this  school,  under  Mr.  Philbrick,  was  the 
beginning  of  a  new  departure  in  school  management  in 
the  city.  Up  to  that  time,  1847,  the  old  "  double  headed  " 
organization  had  prevailed.  "By  this  singular  arrange- 
ment each  school  had  two  departments,  called  the  read- 
ing and  writing  departments.  Each  of  these  departments 
was  accommodated  in  a  separate  apartment ;  each  had 
its  separate  set  of  studies  ;  the  programme  of  studies 
being  divided  for  this  purpose,  not  horizontally  by  grades, 
but  vertically  by  subjects ;  each  had  its  master  and  corps 
of  assistants,  usually  two  or  three  in  number;  and  the 
pupils  attended  each  in  turn,  changing  from  one  to  the 
other  at  each  half-daily  session."  The  pupils  all  assem- 
bled and  prepared  their  lessons  in  the  room  with  the 
master.  This  room  usually  had  a  seating  capacity  of 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty.  Originally,  all  the  reci- 
tations were  conducted  in  the  same  room,  the  master 
hearing  one  section  of  pupils  and  the  assistants  hearing 
the  others. 

By  the  arrangement  adopted   in  the   Quincy   school, 


38  JOHX  D.   PHILBBICK. 

each  division  was  to  occupy  a  separate  room  ;  and  when 
one  reflects  upon  the  old  state  of  harshness  in  discipline, 
repression,  confusion,  and  corporal  punishment,  that  were 
necessary,  and  then  upon  the  quiet,  the  order,  and  the 
kindness  of  spirit,  that  would  be  infused  into  a  school 
under  the  new  system,  he  will  at  once  understand  why 
it  was  so  important  that  the  new  plan  should  succeed. 
Then  there  were  the  economic  reasons,  the  reasons  that 
were  more  potent  in  the  minds  of  many  of  the  school 
committee  at  that  time  than  the  pedagogic  ones. 

Mr.  Philbrick  proved  to  be  the  right  man  for  the  new 
scheme.  He  made  it  such  a  success  that,  in  a  few  years, 
the  old  double-headed  system  had  entirely  disappeared  ; 
and  no  more  schoolhouses  in  Boston  have  been  built  on 
the  old  plan.  Whether  the  old  system  would  have  con- 
tinued much  longer  in  the  event  of  his  failure,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  ;  but  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  better  era 
was  much  hastened  by  his  wise  and  efficient  administra- 
tion. The  influence  of  this  change  is  now  felt,  perhaps, 
in  every  State  in  the  Union  ;  if  not  in  the  structure  of 
schoolhouses,  certainly  in  the  mildness  of  the  discipline 
that  has  been  made  possible. 

Another  great  service  rendered  to  the  Boston  schools, 
and,  indeed,  to  the  schools  of  the  whole  country,  was  the 
reform  in  the  school  programmes.  The  accomplishing  of 
this  required  the  highest  wisdom  and  the  application  of 
the  best  common  sense.  Dr.  Philbrick  had  the  good 
judgment,  in  this  as  in  many  other  things,  to  proceed 
slowly.  Even  after  he  knew  the  right,  he  took  time  to 
do  the  work  necessary  for  its  introduction. 


LIFE  AND  CHAEACTEE.  39 

The  making  of  a  good  programme  is  undoubtedly  the 
highest  kind  of  pedagogical  work.  It  is  easy  to  tinker  a 
programme,  easy  to  say,  "  Put  this  into  the  schools,  and 
take  that  out "  ;  but  to  know  the  end  of  human  develop- 
ment, its  successive  stages,  its  breadth,  the  relative  pro- 
portion of  each  element  to  be  introduced,  —  to  know  the 
means  to  be  used,  the  matter  to  be  presented,  the  order 
of  presentation,  the  proper  proportion  of  time  to  give  to 
this  or  that  subject ;  and  then  to  be  able  to  state  intel- 
ligibly all  the  processes  in  proper  co-ordination  and  sub- 
ordination,—  in  short,  to  determine  just  what  shall  be 
done,  when  and  how,  by  the  children  of  a  city,  so  that  all 
shall  be  educated  in  the  best  way,  —  this  requires  peda- 
gogical skill  of  the  highest  order.  It  requires  educa- 
tional wisdom  of  no  mean  quality  to  know  enough  not  to 
attempt  the  task. 

I  doubt  whether  a  greater  advance  in  the  constructing 
of  a  good  programme  has  been  made  in  this  country  than 
was  made  by  Mr.  Philbrick  in  the  arranging  of  the  course 
of  study  for  the  primary  and  grammar  schools  of  Boston. 
In  speaking  of  the  effect  of  the  programme  of  the  pri- 
mary schools  twenty  years  after  it  went  into  operation, 
he  says :  "  The  adoption  of  this  programme  was  of  so 
much  importance  as  to  constitute  an  era  in  the  history 
of  the  primary  schools.  Its  beneficial  effects  were  soon 
apparent,  and  they  have  gone  on  increasing  ever  since. 
It  gives  definiteness  of  aim  to  the  teachers  which  they 
did  not  before  have,  promotes  unity  and  harmony  of  effort 
on  the  part  of  teachers  of  different  classes,  and  tends  to 
secure  uniformity  of  progress  in  corresponding  classes 


40  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

in  different  parts  of  the  city,  while  it  affords  at  once 
a  standard  and  guide  in  making  examinations  for  pro- 
motion." 

This  work  of  Dr.  Philbrick  has  sometimes  been  spoken 
of  as  though  it  was,  in  his  mind,  an  end  ;  or,  at  least,  that 
school  organization  was  an  end,  and  not  a  means.  Those 
who  make  such  criticisms  fail  to  take  into  account,  in  the 
first  place,  the  fact  that  the  making  of  a  good  programme 
implies  a  profound  knowledge  of  education,  both  philo- 
sophic and  practical,  and  in  the  second  place,  the  fact 
that,  when  his  programme  was  made  and  well  applied  in 
the  schools  under  his  control,  he  began  to  study  the  ways 
and  means  of  raising  the  teachers  under  his  direction  to 
the  rank  of  educational  philosophers  with  as  much  zeal 
as  he  had  ever  displayed  in  the  construction  or  introduc- 
tion of  the  programme. 

It  was  just  at  this  point  that  he  was  misunderstood  by 
his  critics.  Because  he  laid  a  necessary  foundation  first, 
and  then  sought  means  for  erecting  the  superstructure,  it 
was  assumed  that  he  would  never  build.  Shrewdly  has 
Dr.  White  remarked,  "  His  apparent  conservatism  was 
the  poise  of  deep  insight  and  wide  knowledge/'  While 
others  would  fail  on  account  of  moving  too  soon,  he  could 
wait  till  all  contingencies  were  provided  for. 

Another  important  service  rendered  by  Dr.  Philbrick 
was  the  making  of  the  grammar  masters  principals  of 
districts.  The  primary  schools  of  Boston  remained  un- 
graded down  to  1856;  but  between  that  date  and  1864 
they  had  been  graded  into  six  classes,  and,  when  prac- 
ticable, a  single  class  was  assigned  to  each  teacher  This 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER.  41 

arrangement,  of  course,  required  promotions  to  be  made 
every  six  months,  from  one  primary  teacher  to  another, 
unless  the  teachers  were  sent  from  grade  to  grade  with 
their  pupils,  a  plan  which  was  not  generally  adopted. 
"  This  made  it  necessary  that  some  one  should  be 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  supervising  the  group 
with  reference  to  the  admission  of  pupils,  their  proper 
classification,  and  their  qualifications  for  promotion,  from 
class  to  class,  and  to  the  grammar  schools." 

At  the  same  time  the  number  of  pupils  in  each  of  the 
grammar  schools  had  become  so  muth  larger  under  the 
"single-headed"  organization  that  an  improvement  in  the 
supervision  of  the  lower  classes  had  come  to  be  felt  as  a 
necessity.  The  master  was  occupied  in  teaching  the  first 
class,  and  consequently  the  labors  of  the  subordinate 
teachers  were  often  undirected,  or  misdirected,  and,  con- 
sequently, conflicting  in  their  aims.  This  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  "  high  pressure "  in  the  first  class,  for  the 
pupils  often  came  up  poorly  qualified  to  do  the  work  re- 
quired. And  the  more  the  master  tried  to  remedy  the 
deficiency  in  his  own  class,  the  more  he  was  increasing 
the  evil  for  the  succeeding  class  by  neglecting  the  classes 
below.  And,  beside,  the  pupils  who  left  school  without 
reaching  the  first  class  received  little  benefit  from  the 
superior  experience  and  teaching  power  of  the  master. 

To  remedy  all  these  evils,  Dr.  Philbrick  conceived  the 
plan  of  relieving  the  master  from  the  duty  of  teaching  in 
the  first  class,  and  of  making  him  the  principal,  not  only 
of  the  grammar  school,  but  of  all  the  primary  schools  in 
his  district  as  well.  This  scheme  had  the  ever  potent 


42  JOHN  D.  PHILBRICK. 

merit  of  cheapness  ;  and,  after  a  long  discussion,  and  the 
support  of  an  able  report,  it  was  adopted  by  the  Board. 
The  conservative  members,  however,  succeeded  in  adding 
a  modification  to  the  original  plan,  to  the  effect  that  the 
new  duty  of  the  master  should  be  performed  "  under  the 
direction  of  the  district  committee."  This  qualification 
wrought  much  harm  in  some  districts  for  a  long  time,  but 
in  the  main  the  plan  soon  w.ent  into  effect. 

Nearly  ten  years  later  Dr.  Philbrick  writes  :  — 

"  This  measure  has  unified  the  whole  system  and 
greatly  increased  its  strength  and  efficiency.  Without  it 
the  new  programme  would  have  proved  little  better  than 
so  much  waste  paper.  Each  master  is  now  not  merely  a 
teacher  of  one  small  class,  — he  is  the  training  master  and 
real  director  of  all  the  classes  in  his  district.  If  he  does 
his  duty  he  teaches  more  or  less  in  every  class  to  show 
how  they  should  be  handled,  and  so  aids  and  directs  the 
teachers  in  carrying  out  the  programmes,  that  their  labor 
may,  as  far  as  possible,  contribute  to  the  accomplishment 
of  the  desired  objects." 

But  I  must  hasten  on,  for  time  would  fail  me  to  treat, 
with  anything  like  fullness,  of  all  the  reforms  wrought 
in  the  Boston  schools,  through  the  wise  foresight  and 
patient  labor  of  Dr.  Philbrick. 

He  kept  the  school  expenditures  from  being  reduced 
to  a  point  that  would  cripple  the  efficiency  of  the  schools. 
He  never  boasted  of  cheap  schools.  The  farthest  he 
ever  went  in  this  direction  was  to  show  the  people  that 
school  expenses,  in  the  time  of  high  prices,  were  not  in- 
creased so  rapidly  as  other  city  expenses,  and  that  for 


LIFE  AND   CHAEACTEE.  43 

the  most  extravagant  use  of  money  for  school  purposes 
the  school  committee  were  not  responsible ;  but  he  never 
so  far  yielded  to  the  popular  clamor  for  retrenchment  as 
to  consent  to  the  reduction  of  teachers'  salaries,  or  the 
cheapening  of  the  necessary  supplies  for  the  schools. 
He  saw  clearly  that  the  schools  must  cost  money  if  they 
were  to  be  good,  and  his  motto  was,  "  Schools  good 
enough  for  the  rich  are  poor  enough  for  the  poor."  If 
the  public  schools  are  patronized  by  the  wealthy  they  are 
economical,  even  for  them,  and  so  Mr.  Philbrick  sought 
to  make  the  public  schools  better  than  it  is  possible  to 
make  private  schools. 

His  wise  counsels  were  felt  in  the  construction  of 
schoolhouses.  Mr.  George  A.  Clough,  the  able  architect 
of  the  Latin  and  English  High  School  building  in  Bos- 
ton, says  :  — 

"The  earliest  impressions  that  I  received  upon  school 
architecture  were  from  Dr.  Philbrick,  as  far  back  as  1871, 
and  now,  after  fifteen  years'  experience,  I  have  had  an 
opportunity  to  see  that  his  views  were  far  in  advance  of 
all  other  writers  upon  the  subject  in  this  country.  In 
reviewing  my  experience  I  find  myself  constantly  associ- 
ated with  the  early  views  of  Dr.  Philbrick." 

In  the  matter  of  school  furniture  such  a  change  was 
wrought  under  his  administration  that  the  effect  has 
been  felt  all  over  this  country,  and  even  in  other  coun- 
tries. To  his  wisdom  are  we,  perhaps,  mainly  indebted 
for  the  use  of  a  single  desk  for  every  scholar,  from  the 
primary  school  to  the  high. 

He  was  among  the  first,  —  perhaps  the  very  first,  —  of 


44  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

the  leading  educators  of  the  country  to  perceive  the  value 
of  art  education,  and  to  take  steps  toward  its  promotion. 
Mr.  John  S.  Clark,  of  the  firm  of  Prang  &  Co.,  a  man  as 
well  qualified  to  speak  upon  this  point  as  any  man  in  the 
United  States,  says  :  — 

"  The  movement  for  the  study  of  drawing  in  the  public 
schools  ....  had  its  beginning  in  Boston.  I  do  not 
think  I  do  injustice  to  the  many  gentlemen  who  took  a 
deep  interest  in  starting  the  movement  in  Massachusetts 
when  I  say  that  the  leading  spirit  in  the  movement  was 
Dr.  Philbrick.  In  my  various  consultations  with  him  he 
surprised  me,  not  only  by  the  thoroughness  of  his  obser- 
vation of  what  had  been  done  abroad,  but  also  by  his 
clear  comprehension  of  what  was  necessary  to  be  done 
here  before  any  success  could  be  expected.  To  Dr.  Phil- 
brick  more  than  to  any  other  one  person  are  we  indebted 
for  our  Massachusetts  Normal  Art  School.  It  was 
through  his  instrumentality,  mainly,  that  Mr.  Walter 
Smith  was  induced  to  come  to  Boston  in  1872." 

And,  I  may  add  that  the  influence  of  this  movement 
upon  the  industrial  productions  and  upon  the  artistic 
tastes  of  the  people  of  this  country  is  beyond  compu- 
tation. 

In  the  department  of  vocal  music  great  progress  was 
made  during  Dr.  Philbrick's  administration.  When  he 
took  charge  of  the  schools,  in  1856,  singing  was  indiffer- 
ently taught  in  only  a  portion  of  the  classes  of  the  gram- 
mar schools,  and  in  these  it  was  not  taught  by  the  regular 
teachers.  In  fact,  "  there  was  no  prescribed  programme 
of  instruction,  no  harmony  of  methods,  no  uniformity  of 
textbooks,  no  classification,  —  in  fact,  no  system.'*  At 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER.  45 

the  close  of  his  connection  with  the  schools,  a  thorough, 
systematic,  and  progressive  course  of  musical  instruction 
was  given  to  all  the  pupils,  beginning  with  the  youngest 
on  their  entrance  into  school,  and  ending  with  the  last 
year  of  the  high  school  course ;  and  there  was,  also,  a 
systematic  course  of  instruction  given  to  the  pupils  of 
the  Boston  Normal  School  to  qualify  the  students  to 
teach  music  when  they  should  be  called  to  take  charge 
of  classes  as  teachers. 

Dr.  Philbrick,  as  long  ago  as  1860,  took  strong  ground 
in  favor  of  the  introduction  of  physical  training,  or  gym- 
nastics, into  the  public  schools.  After  much  opposition, 
the  plan  that  he  proposed  in  1860  was  adopted  in  1864, 
and  a  special  teacher  of  vocal  and  physical  culture  was 
appointed.  Not  so  much  has  been  accomplished  in  this 
department  in  Boston  as  is  needed,  on  account  of  our  lack 
of  facilities.  The  difficulty  of  improvement  in  this 
branch  of  instruction  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  con- 
servative force  of  an  established  order  of  things.  To 
make  physical  culture  really  effective,  a  gymnasium  is 
necessa'ry  in  connection  with  each  school,  and  in  Boston 
the  schoolhouses  are  so  situated  that  the  acquisition  of 
ground  for  suitable  buildings  would  be  very  expensive ; 
and  so  even  those  who  are  wise  enough  to  see  the  need 
of  such  buildings  hesitate  to  move  in  the  matter. 

The  plan  at  present  in  operation  in  Boston  of  employ, 
ing  a  force  of  truant  officers  by  the  school  committee  was 
developed  during  Dr.  Philbrick's  administration.  At 
first  truant  officers  were  appointed  by  the  mayor  and 
aldermen,  and  were  not  responsible  to  the  school  com- 


46  JOHN  D.   PHILBBICK. 

mittee  for  the  performance  of  their  duty.  They  for  a 
long  time  met  the  superintendent  once  a  month  as  a 
matter  of  courtesy,  but  not  as  a  duty.  At  last  the  au- 
thority to  appoint  these  officers  and  fix  their  salaries  was 
conferred  upon  the  school  committee  by  general  statute, 
and  then  they  met  the  superintendent  once  a  week  for 
consultation  and  direction.  After  this  system  had  been 
developed  and  perfected  by  a  series  of  experiments  in 
Boston,  its  beneficial  effects  were  so  marked  that  it  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  other  American  cities,  and  finally 
produced  much  effect  in  England  and  other  foreign  coun- 
tries. The  action  of  the  truant  force  in  Boston  was  so 
moulded  by  the  superintendent  that  the  moral  influence 
of  the  officers  in  promoting  a  better  state  of  feeling 
toward  the  schools,  among  ignorant  parents,  and  thus 
securing  greater  regularity  of  attendance,  was,  perhaps, 
quite  as  great  as  that  of  their  direct,  legally  required 
work. 

Outside  the  public  schools  Dr.  Philbrick's  influence 
was  constantly  felt  for  good.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
association  that  secured  the  charter  of  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology.  From  the  day  of  the  chartering 
of  this  institution  to  the  day  of  his  own  death  he  was  a 
member  of  the  corporation  and  of  the  committee  on  in- 
struction. He  was  a  constant  attendant  of  the  meet- 
ings, both  of  the  corporation  and  of  the  committees  to 
which  he  belonged,  and,  by  his  labors  and  counsel,  did 
much  to  develop  this  important  institution. 

He  was  no  inconsiderable  factor  in  the  forces  that  cre- 
ated the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts.  He  was  the  first 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER.  47 

temporary  secretary  of  this  association,  and  did  much  to 
secure  the  necessary  funds  for  its  establishment.  Many 
of  those  who  listen  to  me  to-day  will  remember  his  per- 
sonal influence  in  this  direction. 

His  last  work  for  Boston,  as  well  as  for  the  rest  of  the 
country,  was  his  great  argument  in  favor  of  a  permanent 
tenure  of  office  for  teachers.  His  lecture  upon  this  sub- 
ject before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction,  and  his 
masterly  treatment  of  the  same  in  his  report  to  the  Com- 
missioner of  Education  upon  city  school  systems,  did 
much  toward  securing  the  passage  of  the  act  by  the  Leg- 
islature last  winter,  which  confers  upon  school  commit- 
tees authority  to  dispense  with  the  annual  re-election  of 
teachers,  —  a  movement  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
Philbrick,  is  second  to  no  reform  in  education  that  has 
been  inaugurated  in  this  country. 

But,  were  I  called  upon  to  single  out  from  all  the  grand 
achievements  of  Dr.  Philbrick  in  Boston,  the  one  more 
potent  than  all  the  rest,  the  one  stronger  and  more  far- 
reaching  in  its  influence  than  all  others,  the  one  that  has 
done  most  to  make  the  Boston  schools  known  and  hon- 
ored wherever  public  schools  exist  in  the  whole  world, 
the  one  that  is  destined,  unless  destroyed  by  narrowness 
and  jealousy,  to  exert  the  strongest  influence  in  the  im- 
provement of  our  schools  in  the  future,  I  should  name, 
not  schoolhouses,  not  school  furnishings,  not  programmes, 
not  methods,  not  special  schools,  not  even  the  diffusion 
of  a  sound  philosophical  spirit,  but  rather  the  creation  of 
a  higher  ideal  of  the  schoolmaster's  office,  —  an  ideal  that 
makes  the  office  respected  and  honored  by  the  people* 


48  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

and  that  makes  the  school  itself  the  master's  pride  and 
glory,  and  the  object  of  his  entire  consecration  and  devo- 
tion. This  was  the  crowning  glory  of  Dr.  Philbrick's 
work  in  Boston. 

One  of  the  fundamental  philosophical  principles  that 
was  early  developed  in  Dr.  Philbrick's  mind,  and  that  be- 
came a  guiding  force  in  many  of  his  reforms,  was  the 
truth  that  specialized  functions  require  specialized  agen- 
cies. As  soon  as  it  became  evident  to  him  that  there 
was  a  special  work  to  be  done  he  at  once  began  to  cast 
about  for  the  proper  agency  for  its  accomplishment. 
Hence  we  find  growing  up  in  Boston,  under  his  wise 
guidance,  and  developing  under  his  fostering  care,  even- 
ing elementary  schools,  evening  high  schools,  evening 
drawing  schools,  schools  for  licensed  minors,  a  deaf-mute 
school,  in  addition  to  the  regular  primary,  grammar,  and 
high  schools.  The  same  principle,  also,  held  him  as  a 
firm  advocate  of  the  establishment  of  a  separate  Latin 
school  for  girls,  instead  of  having  the  work  of  fitting  girls 
for  college  done  in  the  regular  high  school  for  girls  where 
the  chief  business  is  giving  a  general  education. 

The  application  of  this  principle  compelled  him  to  take 
ground  in  favor  of  a  separate  and  distinct  normal  school. 
He  saw,  with  the  insight  of  a  sage,  that  the  work  of  pre- 
paring young  women  to  become  teachers  in  primary  and 
grammar  schools  was,  in  its  finishing  process,  entirely 
distinct  from  the  general  work  of  developing  scientific 
and  literary  power,  and,  therefore,  as  he  believed,  a  spe- 
cial agency  should  be  employed  for  performing  this  spe- 
cial work.  I  remember  well  a  visit  to  the  Boston  Normal 


LIFE  AND  CH ABAC  TEE.  49 

School  by  the  superintendent  of  schools  of  New  York,  — 
Mr.  Kiddle,  —  soon  after  the  separation  of  the  Normal 
School  from  the  Girls'  High.  We  were  then  just  strug- 
gling into  existence ;  but,  after  witnessing  the  work  of 
the  school  for  some  time,  he  remarked,  "  You  have  the 
right  organization,  —  a  special  school  for  special  work." 

And  yet  this  is  only  a  single  instance  of  the  profoundly 
philosophic  mould  of  Dr.  Philbrick's  mind.  He  told  me, 
within  a  few  years  of  his  death,  that  he  had  never  written 
a  sentence  on  education  that  he  would  wish  to  blot.  It 
is  remarkable  to  observe  what  unity  and  consistency  run 
through  all  his  writings.  The  reason  of  this  is  obvious 
to  those  who  know  the  deep  principles  that  ran  through 
all  his  educational  thinking  and  unified  all  his  educa- 
tional work.  Dr.  Harris  well  expressed  this  fact  when 
he  said,  "  His  annual  reports  were  luminous  with  insight 
into  the  relations  of  practical  methods  to  the  history  of 
pedagogy.  He  was  a  city  set  upon  a  hill.  He  never 
wrote  a  paragraph  without  considering  the  relation  of  its 
doctrine  to  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  world/1 

The  ability  to  do  this  implies  what  we  all  concede,  that 
he  was  profoundly  versed  in  educational  history.  Some 
have  attempted  to  separate  a  knowledge  of  educational 
philosophy  from  that  of  educational  practice,  and  to  at- 
tribute to  him  the  latter,  but  to  deny  him  the  former ; 
but  those  who  so  estimate  the  man  know  him  only  in 
part.  He  was,  indeed,  deeply  read  in  systems  of  school 
organization,  but  these  systems  lay  in  his  mind  as  the 
development  of  corresponding  philosophies.  He  was 
strong  as  a  practical  school  man,  but  the  secret  of  his 


50  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

practical  strength  lay  in  his  profound  knowledge  of  the 
principles  that  determine  right  practice. 

This  made  him  conservative.  While  others  were  ready 
to  embrace  a  newly  presented  theory  or  method,  he  felt 
compelled  to  hesitate.  He  must  first  consider  whether  it 
had  not  already  been  properly  tested  and  rejected,  and 
whether  or  not  it  was  in  accordance  with  those  principles 
that  he  held  as  fundamental.  Often  would  he  reject  a 
method  of  teaching  which,  for  the  time  being,  was  pop- 
ular, well  knowing  that  it  was  not  in  accordance  with  the 
views  of  the  wisest  educators.  If  any  new,  really  new, 
method  was  proposed,  he  always  inquired,  before  he  ac- 
cepted it,  whether  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  tendency 
of  the  best  practice  of  the  world.  But  few  men  could 
apply  this  test.  He  had  the  necessary  knowledge,  and  it 
gave  him  great  strength.  He  was  so  well  versed  in  ped- 
agogical history  that  he  knew  what  the  various  nations  of 
the  world  had  formerly  done,  what  they  were  now  doing, 
and  the  changes  both  in  theory  and  practice  through 
which  they  were  going.  And  he  judged  that,  if  all  the 
most  enlightened  nations  of  the  world  were  moving  in  a 
given  direction,  that  direction,  while  not  necessarily  ab- 
solutely right,  was  more  likely  to  be  right  than  any 
course  that  could  be  thought  out  by  one  single  mind. 
How  many  times  I  have  heard  him  say,  "  This  practice 
is  wrong  because  it  is  contrary  to  the  unanimous  opinion 
of  the  wisest  educators/*  This  test  he  often  applied 
with  wonderful  skill. 

It  has  been  said  of  him  that  he  was  not  a  great  man. 
But  what  is  the  standard  of  greatness  ?     This  is  a  relative 


LIFE  AND   CUAEACTEE.  51 

term,  of  course.  No  one  talent  of  his  overshadowed  all 
the  rest ;  but  his  mind  was  well  rounded  and  evenly 
balanced,  and  one  of  remarkable  force.  His  power  of 
application  was  wonderful.  His  classmate,  Rev.  Dr. 
Spalding,  says  of  him,  "No  man  in  college  was  more 
noted  for  his  indefatigable  industry."  And  the  habit 
thus  early  formed  clung  to  him  till  the  day  of  his  death. 
His  judgment  of  men  was  excellent,  and  his  opinion  of 
the  best  means  to  secure  a  desired  end  was  rarely  wrong. 
His  view  of  a  broad  truth  was  clear  to  a  degree  attained 
by  but  few,  and  his  power  to  apply  general  principles  to 
special  cases  was  equal  to  his  power  of  insight.  If  great- 
ness be  judged  by  success,  we  must  accord  it  to  him  in 
no  small  degree.  Few  men  of  a  generation  impress 
themselves  upon  the  world  so  strongly  or  so  widely. 
Probably  no  school  man  lives  to-day  who  is  so  widely  and 
so  favorably  known  as  was  Dr.  Philbrick  at  the  time  of 
his  death. 

Not  only  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  educa- 
tors, but  the  affection  they  felt  for  him,  was  unusual. 
What  is  the  secret  ?  Is  it  not  to  be  found  partly  in  the 
fact  that  his  highest  ambition  was  to  be  of  real  service  to 
mankind  ?  In  the  seclusion  and  sacredness  of  his  own 
study,  July  9,  1865,  he  wrote  :  — 

"I  often  urge  as  the  chief  end  of  man,  self-culture, 
with  a  view  to  use  talents  and  acquirements  for  the  ben- 
efit of  others.  I  got  a  glimpse  of  this  great  idea  while  in 
college,  I  know  not  how,  and  it  grew  and  expanded  till  it 
came  to  be  my  guiding  principle.  It  was  this  which  at 
length  determined  my  choice  of  a  profession.  I  felt  that 


52  JOHN  D.  PHILBBICK. 

the  educational  field  was  that  in  which  I  could  best  de- 
velop my  own  character  and  at  the  same  time  do  the 
most  good  to  mankind.  I  expected  labor  and  trials,  but 
these  are  necessary  for  culture.  I  have  no  regret  on 
account  of  my  choice ;  I  only  regret  that  I  have  not  done 
more.  Not  but  that  I  have  worked  hard  enough,  but  I 
have  not  always  worked  to  the  best  advantage.  To  ac- 
complish great  things  one  must  have  great  power  of 
endurance  and  also  great  wisdom  to  direct  his  efforts,  so 
that  he  may  always  work  to  the  best  advantage." 

The  desire  to  do  the  most  good  to  mankind  determined 
the  choice  of  his  profession  !  Have  we  not  here  the  key 
to  that  cheerful  and  unruffled  patience  with  which  he 
continually  worked,  to  his  catholic  charity  toward  those 
who  delayed  the  accomplishment  of  his  cherished  plans, 
and  to  that  sweet  spirit  of  Christian  forgiveness  of  his 
enemies  that  made  him  so  lovable  in  the  quiet  retirement 
of  his  later  years  ?  How  constantly  he  was  guided  by 
this  principle  those  know  best  who  knew  him  most.  In 
his  view  education  was  a  high  and  holy  calling,  worthy  of 
the  ambition  of  the  noblest  minds,  and  to  this  he  conse- 
crated his  life. 

His  integrity  never  faltered.  Honesty,  both  intellect- 
ual and  moral,  was  a  native  element  of  his  character. 
Selfish  aims  and  ambitions  found  no  lodgment  in  his 
heart.  He  preferred  failure  to  insincerity. 

Then  he  was  generous  and  sympathetic.  No  man  was 
quicker  to  detect  merit  in  others  or  more  ready  to  give 
credit  where  it  was  due.  How  many  have  been  cheered 
by  his  kind  words  of  sympathy  and  his  wise  counsels. 
He  was  a  real  friend  to  all  who  were  honestly  working 
for  the  good  of  public  schools. 


LIFE  AND  CHAEACTEE.  53 

Able  and  industrious,  devoted  to  his  profession,  and  a 
student  of  its  history  and  philosophy,  sincere,  generous, 
and  sympathetic,  patient  and  forgiving,  his  life  was  a 
grand  success.  Wherever  public  schools  exist  his  influ- 
ence is  felt ;  wherever  popular  education  is  studied  he  is 
known.  His  mind  was  clear  and  strong ;  his  character 
was  round,  and  full,  and  sweet ;  and  his  life  contributed 
abundantly  to  the  good  of  mankind.  Long  may  his 
memory  live  in  our  heart  of  hearts,  and  long  may  his 
noble  example  inspire  us  to  emulate  his  virtues,  and  to 
consecrate  ourselves,  head  and  heart,  soul  and  body,  to 
the  great  work  to  which  he  devoted  his  life. 


Public  Services 

of 
JOHN    DUDLEY   PHILBRICK. 


By  W.   T.  Harris,  LLD. 


PUBLIC  SERVICES 


OF 


JOHN    D.    PHILBRICK. 


We  honor  and  esteem  the  development  of  human  char- 
acter above  all  other  products  of  this  world.  We  do  not 
value  possessions  so  much  as  being.  Character  is  not 
the  indifferent  foundation  of  the  soul  which  is  capable  of 
becoming  either  good  or  bad,  but  it  is  the  positive  struct- 
ure that  is  erected  on  that  foundation.  Hence,  we  speak 
of  a  good  man  as  a  man  of  character,  and  of  a  bad  man 
we  say  that  he  has  no  character. 

Again,  it  is  evident  that  character  is  never  the  product 
of  external  circumstances  ;  it  is  formed  only  by  the  reac- 
tion of  the  human  will  against  these  circumstances.  I. 
is  always  the  product  of  the  self-activity  of  the  man  him- 
self. He  reacts  upon  the  world  around  him,  and  moulds 
it  by  his  will.  In  proportion  as  he  attains  power  to  real- 
ize what  is  rational  in  this  world  he  attains  character. 
Looking  upon  each  individual  as  a  possibility  of  this 
precious  outcome,  we  must  value  most  highly  any  instru- 
mentalities which  tend  to  favor  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment. All  doings  and  havings  which  do  not  appertain 
to  the  growth  of  hum^n  character  fail  in  an  essential  par- 


58  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

ticular.  They  do  not  have  any  part  or  lot  in  what  is 
eternal.  Only  the  going  forth  of  the  soul  in  the  image 
of  its  Maker  is  of  prime  importance  in  the  affairs  of  this 
world,  and  all  deeds  and  events  take  rank  according  to 
their  near  or  remote  relation  to  this  essential  purpose. 

In  view  of  this  principle,  we  assemble  to  recount  the 
evidences  of  character  in  our  great  men  after  they  have 
gone  from  us.  What  they  have  done  for  us,  what  they 
have  done  for  their  fellow-men,  is  the  test  of  this  sub- 
stantial growth  in  themselves.  For,  strangely  enough  in 
human  life,  it  is  true  that  one  finds  his  deepest  self  in 
the  recognition  that  he  receives  from  society.  He  works 
for  it  by  working  for  others.  It  is  the  Christian  doctrine 
that  he  who  wishes  to  save  his  life  in  an  immediate  and 
selfish  manner  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  who  loses  his  life  for 
the  sake  of  others,  he  alone  gains  it ;  he  obtains  a  hold 
on  his  true  being,  —  he  realizes  character. 

It  is  thus  with  the  noble  educator  whom  we  celebrate 
on  this  occasion.  Early  in  life,  as  we  have  heard  from 
those  who  were  most  intimate  with  him,  he  consecrated 
himself  to  the  work  which  promised  the  most  direct  field 
of  usefulness  to  his  fellow-men.  There  opened  before 
him  many  careers  of  honor  and  success,  —  careers,  indeed, 
that  promised  honor  and  wealth  at  a  far  less  outlay  of 
endeavor.  But  he  perceived  that  easily  won  honors  are 
not  enduring  ones ;  he  perceived  that,  in  the  long  run,  it 
is  only  character  that  is  honored,  and  character  builds 
itself  by  heroic  self-sacrifice  for  the  good  of  humanity. 
The  missionary  spirit,  the  zeal  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi, 
the  zeal  of  St.  Paul,  the  apostle  to  the  gentiles,  the  zeal 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  59 

of  the  noble  army  of  Christian  missionaries,  is  the  type 
of  this  highest  unfolding  of  the  human  soul,  for  it  is  the 
nearest  approach  to  the  Divine  Model  as  revealed  to  us 
in  Christ. 

Looking  at  human  welfare  in  its  broadest  sense,  we 
shall  agree,  I  think,  in  this :  The  highest  service  to  men 
is  that  which  brings  to  bear  upon  them  the  influence  that 
will  fill  them  with  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  good. 
Character  is  that  which  develops  character  in  others. 
Next  after  the  heroes  who  preach  the  gospel  of  the  high- 
est religion  to  men  come  the  teachers  who  open  the  win- 
dows of  the  intellect  and  let  the  light  of  science  into 
the  soul. 

In  a  world  full  of  sin  and  evil,  full  of  poverty  and  suf- 
fering, full,  likewise,  of  discontent  and  mutiny  against 
established  order,  what  is  the  first  and  best  gift  that  one 
can  offer  to  his  day  and  generation  ?  Certainly,  we  shall 
say,  next  after  the  teachers  who  teach  religion  come  the 
secular  teachers  who  teach  science  and  enlighten  the  in- 
tellect, while  they  train  the  will  into  moral  habits. 

Take  the  evils  of  society,  poverty,  vice,  disease,  and 
crime,  and  consider  their  suppression  and  cure.  The  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  the  dispensing  of  charity,  do  much 
to  punish  or  cure,  but  very  little  to  prevent.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  many  wise  and  thoughtful  people  that  charity 
is  often  so  managed  that  it  aggravates  evil  by  increasing 
its  producing  causes.  To  the  social  economist,  however, 
one  way  is  clear,  —  school  education  is  a  powerful  pre- 
ventive. It  increases  the  productive  power  of  the  indi- 
vidual by  increasing  his  directive  intelligence  and  by 


60  JOHN  D.   PHIL  BRICK. 

increasing  his  power  of  will,  for  the  school  rests  on  three 
pillars  :  First,  the  cultivation  of  the  habit  of  industry, 
the  will-power  to  do  its  reasonable  task  whether  it  is 
easy,  pleasant,  and  agreeable,  or  difficult  and  disagree- 
able. Second,  the  training  of  the  intellect  into  science, 
the  giving  it  possession  of  the  tools  of  thought,  the  mas- 
tery of  written  and  printed  language  in  which  is  revealed 
human  nature  ;  the  mastery  of  arithmetic  and  its  kin- 
dred branches,  in  which  are  revealed  the  laws  and  condi- 
tions of  matter  ;  and  such  studies  as  give  insight  into 
the  structure  of  reason,  like  grammar,  or  into  the  growth 
of  human  institutions,  like  history,  or  into  our  present 
relations  to  all  mankind,  like  geography.  Thirdly,  there 
is  the  training  into  habits  of  courtesy  and  morality,  the 
great  lesson  of  civil  life,  the  combination  with  one's 
fellow-men  in  peaceful  forms  of  helpfulness,  and  the  sup- 
pression of  animal  tendencies  to  strife  and  contention. 
The  school  teaches  pupils  to  meet  each  other  and  co- 
operate to  secure  a  reasonable  end  by  courteous  and 
considerate  behavior.  In  fact,  the  humblest  and  most 
elementary  school,  as  well  as  the  highest  and  most  ad- 
vanced school,  does  something  to  contribute  to  individual 
and  social  welfare.  It  teaches  the  individual  to  help 
himself  and  to  combine  helpfully  with  his  fellow-men. 
In  an  age  of  rapid  changes  in  industry  and  in  social 
conditions,  it  is  indispensable  that  the  individual  shall 
be  educated  into  the  power  to  adapt  himself  to  his  cir- 
cumstances, the  power  to  readjust  himself  in  case  of 
emergencies.  All  will  acknowledge  that  industry,  the 
mastery  of  knowledge,  and  the  tools  of  thought  and  cour- 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  61 

teous  behavior  are  the  most  essential  requisites  for  this 
age  of  change  and  transition. 

While,  therefore,  we  gladly  recognize  the  nobility  of  a 
life  devoted  to  commerce  and  trade,  to  manufactures,  to 
agricultural  production,  or  to  the  professions  of  law  and 
medicine,  yet  we  must  feel  the  weight  of  the  motives 
which  moved  Mr.  Philbrick,  when  a  serious-minded  and 
ambitious  young  man,  to  select  the  vocation  of  teacher. 
Such  motives  the  half-conscious,  half-unconscious  stuff  of 
feelings  and  aspirations  moved  his  great  contemporaries, 
Horace  Mann,  Henry  Barnard,  Thomas  Arnold,  George 
Peabody,  Johns  Hopkins,  to  devote  life,  or  fortune,  or 
both,  to  the  cause  of  education.  Here  is  the  field  where 
charity  will  make  no  mistakes  ;  here  is  the  field  where 
justice  will  prevent,  as  well  as  suppress  and  cure  crime 
and  vice  and  pauperism.  The  productive  power  of  an 
educated  community  surpasses  that  of  an  uneducated 
community,  not  threefold  merely,  but  three  hundred  fold. 
The  trained  intellect  can  invent  and  bring  to  its  aid  the 
forces  of  nature.  The  pupil  trained  to  perform  his  task 
without  a  murmur,  when  the  subject  is  difficult  and  dis- 
tasteful,—  being  far  remote  from  his  daily  interests  and 
objects  of  life,  —  has  conquered  his  selfish  appetites  and 
has  learned  self-government,  and  thereby  become  fit  to 
govern  others. 

We  have  already  listened  to  the  reminiscences  of  Mr. 
Philbrick's  youth,  and  learned  the  story  of  his  aspirations 
and  his  struggles.  We  have  heard,  too,  of  his  special 
work  here  in  Boston,  first  as  assistant  teacher,  and  next 
as  principal  teacher  or  head  master ;  then,  finally,  as 


62  JOHN  D.  PHILBKICK. 

general  superintendent  of  the  entire  school  system  of 
Boston.  It  remains  now  for  me  to  attempt  a  brief 
summary  of  his  significance  to  the  cause  of  education  in 
general.  I  have,  therefore,  begun  what  I  had  to  say  by 
calling  your  attention  to  the  position  which  the  cause  of 
popular  education  holds  in  human  life  as  a  whole.  What 
I  offer  here  must  necessarily  be  a  very  meager  outline 
of  the  rich  and  full  history  which  Mr.  Philbrick's  rela- 
tions to  general  education  constitute. 

More  and  more  in  our  age  is  increasing  the  power  of 
example.  It  is  becoming  the  general  custom  to  look  up 
from  the  task  before  us  to  the  history  of  all  such  tasks, 
and  to  the  manifold  performance  of  the  same  in  other 
environments.  In  the  history  of  popular  education  in 
the  United  States  Boston  has  been  before  all  others  the 
city  set  on  a  hill.  The  most  numerous,  and  the  best,  de- 
vices for  organizing  schools  and  perfecting  the  methods 
of  instruction  have  come  from  it.  Boston  itself,  between 
the  years  of  1840  and  1860,  passed  through  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  epochs  of  educational  progress  that  we 
find  in  history.  It  threw  off  the  old  shell  of  the  un- 
graded district  school  system  and  adopted  a  new  organ- 
ization better  fitted  for  a  city  school  system. 

The  student  of  our  educational  history  will  eagerly 
search  in  the  records  of  this  city  to  find  the  successive 
steps  that  inaugurated  this  great  change.  He  cannot  fail 
to  observe  that  the  most  prominent  actor  in  this  change 
was  John  D.  Philbrick.  The  cities  and  villages  of  the 
mighty  Northwest,  and,  following  their  lead,  the  cities 
and  villages  of  the  Southwest,  have  been  organized  upon 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  63 

the  Boston  system  of  the  graded  school.  The  idea  of 
this  system  is  in  the  head  of  every  successful  school 
manager  in  the  new  states  of  this  country,  and,  in  most 
cases,  I  might  add,  it  is  not  fully  known  how  great  a  debt 
is  due  to  Boston  for  this  idea.  Boston  is  freely  and  gen- 
erally accredited  with  numerous  minor  ideas  relating  to 
school  architecture  and  the  courses  of  study,  but  only  a 
few  know  what  deep  and  radical  principles  of  organiza- 
tion have  proceeded  from  this  city  "  set  on  a  hill." 

Most  teachers  who  find  themselves  acting  in  an  organ- 
ization suppose  themselves  to  be  doing  what  the  unen- 
lightened common  sense  of  the  individual  would  dictate. 
They  think  that  school  buildings  were  always  built  just 
as  they  are  now,  and  schools  organized  and  classes  ar- 
ranged just  as  they  arrange  them.  They  do  not  realize 
that  every  item  of  architecture,  every  item  of  the  course 
of  study  and  method  of  instruction  and  management  has 
grown  into  vogue  through  fires  of  opposition  ;  that  they 
have  supplanted  other  forms  of  doing  these  things. 

We  must  not  suppose  that  even  the  ungraded  country 
school  is  a  rude  product  of  nature  and  unaided  common 
sense  ;  even  it  has  a  long  evolution  behind  it.  But,  con- 
sider what  changes  are  necessary  when  you  pass  from 
the  ungraded  school  organized  by  a  teacher  with  his 
twenty-five  pupils  in  some  single  room  in  a  district  to 
the  large  school  in  the  city.  In  the  country,  sparsity  of 
population  makes  unnecessary  whole  ranges  of  school 
culture.  The  city  demands,  first  of  all,  that  its  children 
shall  be  taught  to  live  in  one  community  without  quar- 
rels; that,  on  the  other  hand,  they  shall  learn  to  live 


64  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

together  in  a  co-operative  spirit.  For  this  it  is  necessary 
before  all  that  the  children  of  the  city  shall  be  brought 
together  in  large  schools ;  instead  of  twenty  or  thirty 
pupils  there  must  be  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  in  one 
school.  Hence  arises  the  necessity  of  inventing  wise 
methods  of  organization  in  order  to  civilize  these  masses 
of  children  and  secure  humane  results. 

It  appears  that,  in  1789,  at  a  town  meeting  in  Boston, 
a  report  was  presented  from  a  committee  of  honored  cit- 
izens recommending  the  establishing  of  three  schools, 
respectively  located  in  the  northern,  southern,  and  cen- 
tral districts  of  the  city.  These  schools  were  to  belong 
to  what  was  called  for  a  long  time  the  "  double-headed 
system. "  They  were  to  have  one  department  called  a 
"  writing  school,"  in  which  was  taught  writing  and  arith- 
metic under  one  master,  and  another  department  called  a 
"reading  school,"  likewise  under  an  independent  master, 
in  which  was  taught  reading,  spelling,  orthoepy,  and 
grammar.  The  pupils  of  these  schools  were  to  be  boys 
and  girls  from  seven  to  fourteen  years,  after  they  had 
attended  the  infant  schools,  or  "women's  schools."  The 
boys  might  attend  the  year  round,  but  the  girls  could 
attend  only  from  April  2Oth  to  October  2Oth.  These 
pupils  were  to  attend  the  writing  school  one  half  of  the 
day,  and  the  reading  school  the  other  half  of  the  day. 
Here  is  the  organization  of  the  system  of  schools  of 
Boston  for  more  than  half  a  century.  Mr.  Philbrick  was 
appointed  head  master  of  the  first  single-headed  school, 
-the  Quincy  School,  —  Sept.  6th,  1847,  before  the  new 
building  to  be  named  "The  Quincy  School"  was  com- 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  65 

pleted.  I  cannot  learn  what  influence  Mr.  Philbrick  had 
in  determining  the  plans  that  were  adopted  in  the  new 
building  which  he  occupied  in  1848.  I  learn  only  that 
Dr.  T.  M.  Brewer  was  chairman  of  the  school,  and  that 
great  credit  is  given  to  Hon.  John  H.  Wilkins,  chairman 
of  the  Public  Building  Committee,  in  conjunction  with 
George  B.  Emerson,  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Conference,  appointed  by  the  School  Committee.  I 
strongly  suspect  that  to  Mr.  Emerson  was  due  the  radical 
change  in  the  arrangement  of  the  rooms.  Instead  of  a 
large  study  room,  with  small  recitation  rooms  opening 
out  from  it,  there  were  twelve  separate  rooms  intended 
to  be  occupied  each  by  a  single  teacher,  who  was  to  have 
charge  of  the  discipline  of  the  pupils  while  studying,  as 
well  as  of  the  classes  when  reciting. 

This  point  in  regard  to  architecture  is  by  all  means 
the  most  important  item  in  the  whole  plan  of  organiza- 
tion. Instead  of  a  small  room,  twenty-eight  by  thirty- 
two  feet,  and  holding  fifty-six  pupils,  make  a  large 
room  holding  one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils  and  you 
change  the  entire  morale  of  the  school.  While  a  hu- 
mane, well-balanced  teacher  can  easily  manage  the  small 
room  and  secure  excellent  discipline  with  very  little  or 
no  corporal  punishment,  it  requires  a  person  of  strong 
gifts  in  the  direction  of  discipline,  —  so  strong,  indeed, 
as  to  overbalance  his  other  qualities,  —  to  control  and 
discipline  the  large  room.  The  tendency  of  the  school 
system  with  the  large  room  is  constantly  toward  the 
employment  of  bullies  and  tyrants  as  head  masters.  The 
influence  of  the  whole  school  then  goes  toward  military 


66  JOUN  D.   PUILBRICE. 

discipline  sustained  by  brute  force.  I  remember  hearing 
an  usher  in  a  Boston  school  so  far  back  as  1845  boast 
that  the  head  master  whipped  up  forty  rattans  in  one 
morning  in  suppressing  a  rebellion  among  his  boys.  In 
the  St.  Louis  schools,  when  I  entered  them  in  1858, 
where  the  large-room  plan  prevailed,  it  was  not  uncom- 
mon for  over  one  hundred  cases  of  corporal  punishment 
to  take  place  in  one  day  in  a  school  building  containing 
less  than  five  hundred  pupils. 

The  pupils  in  the  small  rooms  remain  under  the  disci- 
pline of  the  same  teacher,  both  in  recitation  and  in  study, 
and  teacher  and  pupil  come  to  know  each  other  and  to 
feel  an  intimate  sympathy,  whereas,  in  the  large  room 
system,  the  number  of  pupils  prevents  intimate  acquaint- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  head  master,  who  is  responsible 
for  the  discipline.  The  constant  danger  of  demoraliza- 
tion renders  summary  measures  indispensable.  Every 
case  of  misbehavior  attracts  the  attention  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pupils.  The  teacher  can  have  very  little  power 
to  hold  so  many  pupils  in  subordination  by  the  influence 
of  his  eye  and  voice.  In  the  small  room  a  case  of  misbe- 
havior disturbs  only  fifty  pupils,  and  the  teacher  easily 
holds  the  room  under  control  by  a  mere  look  or  a  mere 
word.  I  have  not  begun  to  name  the  advantages  of  the 
new  building  over  the  old  ;  but  it  very  soon  reduced  the 
cases  of  corporal  punishment  to  one  tenth  as  many  as 
before,  and  finally  to  one-hundredth  of  the  former  num- 
ber. Pupils  were  humanized ;  the  teacher's  will  pene- 
trated each  soul  intimately  and  became  an  unconscious 
governing  power,  and,  finally,  the  pupils  became  self- 
governed. 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  67 

In  the  system  of  schools  of  St.  Louis  after  the  adoption 
of  the  Boston  style  of  building,  corporal  punishment  de- 
creased from  an  average  of  five  hundred  cases  per  week 
for  seven  hundred  pupils  to  three  cases  for  that  number. 
Judge  of  the  benefit  to  the  schools  of  the  Central  Plain 
of  the  United  States  from  this  architectural  innovation 
of  Boston.  But  another  benefit  of  almost  equal  magni- 
tude arose  from  the  close  grading  of  classes  which  the 
new  system  produced.  I  think  that  Mr.  Philbrick  alone 
deserves  the  credit  for  most  of  this  latter  improvement. 
The  large  school  was  graded  into  classes  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest  so  as  to  bring  together  in  each  room  only 
those  of  the  same  grade  of  advancement  in  their  studies. 
According  to  the  ungraded  system,  such  as  exists  in 
small  country  schools  now,  each  teacher  had  pupils  of  all 
grades,  from  those  just  beginning  to  read  up  to  those 
studying  algebra  and  perhaps  Latin.  Twenty-five  pupils 
in  the  country  school  admit  of  classification  into  divis- 
ions of  two  or  three  pupils  at  most,  and  the  result  is, 
forty  recitations  for  the  day's  work,  and  five  or  ten  min- 
utes to  each  recitation.  It  is  obvious  that  no  thorough 
work  can  be  done  on  this  plan  ;  no  searching  analysis  of 
the  recitation,  no  discussion  of  the  thought,  no  experi- 
ments to  illustrate  it,  —  nothing,  nothing  but  mere  com- 
mitting to  memory  and  repeating  the  words  by  rote, — no 
explanation  of  the  process  of  an  arithmetical  problem, 
but  only  a  memorizing  of  the  rule,  and  an  inspection  of 
the  figures  in  which  the  answer  is  stated.  The  ungraded 
school  in  which  this  method  of  procedure  did  not  prevail 
was  a  rare  phenomenon.  In  the  graded  school  each 


G8  JOHN  D.   PH1LBEICK. 

teacher  has  two  classes,  —  one  recites  while  the  other 
learns  its  lesson.  The  recitation  is  as  long  as  the  atten- 
tion of  the  pupil  can  be  held  without  over-strain, — twenty 
to  twenty-five  minutes  in  the  lower  grades,  and  thirty 
to  forty  minutes  in  the  highest  classes  of  the  grammar 
school.  Time  is  given  for  review  of  the  previous  lesson, 
for  investigation  of  the  lesson  for  the  day,  for  discussion 
of  authorities,  for  illustrations,  for  hints  as  to  methods  of 
study.  Each  pupil  prepares  himself  by  study  of  the  text- 
book, and  in  the  recitation  sees  the  subject  through  the 
perspective  of  the  minds  of  his  fellow-pupils  and  teacher, 
thus  widening  his  own  narrow  views  of  the  subject  by 
seeing  what  different  aspects  it  takes  on  in  the  minds  of 
his  fellow-pupils.  He  acquires  critical  alertness  by  this 
process  and  goes  to  his  next  lesson  with  his  mind  full  of 
new  inquiry  and  reflection,  thus  re-enforcing  his  own 
power  of  attention  by  what  he  has  learned  from  the 
whole  class  and  the  teacher.  A  good  teacher  can  and 
does  use  the  recitation  as  an  instrumentality  for  re- 
enforcing  each  individual  mind  by  all  the  minds  of  the 
whole  class. 

The  constant  influence,  therefore,  of  the  graded  school 
system  of  Boston  has  been  to  change  the  memoriter  sys- 
tem of  recitation  into  a  system  of  critical  investigation. 
Such  a  system  is  not  possible  in  an  ungraded  school, 
even  with  a  good  teacher.  Although  bad  methods  are 
possible  with  poor  teachers,  even  in  a  graded  system,  yet 
they  are  no  longer  necessary,  and  experience  tends  to 
eradicate  them  altogether. 

If  we  how  ask  ourselves  how  it  is  that,  under  Mr.  Phil- 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  69 

brick,  the  Boston  schools  attained  their  world-wide  celeb- 
rity, we  may  see  two  great  and  sufficient  causes  in  the 
fact  that  other  parts  of  the  United  States  have  borrowed 
the  system  of  graded  schools  from  it,  and  have  learned  to 
look  upon  the  Boston  schools  as  the  highest  achievement 
in  the  common  school  system.  Foreign  authorities  have 
been  quick  to  perceive  this  original  merit  of  Boston,  and 
have  acknowledged  it. 

In  Boston,  more  than  elsewhere  in  the  country,  there 
have  been  men  of  remarkable  power  and  wisdom  in  the 
school  committee,  and,  besides  these,  a  very  superior 
class  of  teachers.  The  bare  fact  that  Mr.  Philbrick  held 
the  superintendency  for  twenty  years  in  such  a  city  would 
itself  imply  the  strongest  eulogium  that  can  be  made. 
He  was  able  to  inspire  and  unite  the  action  of  so  large  a 
number  of  men  of  first-class  ability  on  the  school  com- 
mittee. He  was  able  to  secure  and  retain  to  the  last  the 
respect  and  love  of  such  a  corps  of  teachers.  The  thing 
is  unprecedented  and  without  the  possibility  of  a  par- 
allel elsewhere  in  our  country. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  chosen  to  organize  the  graded  school 
system  in  1847  on  tne  adoption  of  the  "  single-headed  " 
system  of  organization.  All  its  possibilities  were  yet  to 
be  unfolded.  None  of  them  had  become  apparent. 
There  was  no  model  to  go  by.  Any  but  a  master-mind 
for  organization  would  have  found  himself  trammeled  by 
the  past,  and  would  have  failed  to  develop  the  advantages 
of  the  new,  and  would  thus  have  retarded  the  good  work. 
Mr.  Philbrick,  however,  was  quick  to  see  what  potential- 
ities were  in  the  new,  and  at  once  organized  them  into  a 


70  JisllN  D.   PUILBRICK. 

system.  An  institution  once  organized  carries  along 
with  it,  by  its  own  force,  a  whole  system  of  second-rate 
workers,  and  re-enforces  their  feeble  efforts  by  the 
strength  of  the  organized  whole. 

As  soon  as  Connecticut  had  established  a  normal 
school,  in  1852,  Dr.  Henry  Barnard,  the  state  superin- 
tendent there,  secured  Mr.  Philbrick  to  organize  it.  As 
principal,  he  preached  in  that  normal  school  the  new  doc- 
trine of  graded  schools ;  and,  finally,  in  institutes  all  over 
the  state,  held  by  him  after  he  became  the  state  superin- 
tendent, he  continued  to  proclaim  the  same  idea,  reach- 
ing all  the  intelligent  minds  open  to  new  ideas  on  the 
subject  of  education. 

His  return  to  Boston  as  superintendent,  in  January, 
1857,  opened  a  new  epoch.  Already  the  graded  system 
had  been  established  throughout  the  city.  That  was  all 
done  within  seven  years  after  the  Ouincy  School  had  led 
the  way.  Now  began  his  efficient  work  on  the  infant 
schools.  They  were  classified  and  organized  in  accord- 
ance with  his  recommendation,  and  his  untiring  supervis- 
ion of  them  elevated  them  to  the  foremost  rank  in  the 
school  system  for  excellence.  His  wise  foresight  made 
fast  this  degree  of  excellence  by  securing  the  adoption  of 
a  system  of  supervision  by  the  grammar  school  masters, 
relieving  them  from  some  of  the  labor  of  the  actual  work 
of  instruction  of  classes  in  order  to  gain  the  time  requi- 
site for  this  supervision. 

To  those  unacquainted  with  school  supervision,  it  seems 
strange  to  hear  that  the  mere  circumstance  of  making 
the  head  masters  of  the  schools  supervisors  over  a  group 


PUBLIC  SEE  VICES.  71 

of  schools  is  in  itself  one  of  the  greatest  of  school  re- 
forms. The  routine  of  school  work  is  very  narrowing  in 
its  effects,  and  continually  wears  for  itself  ruts  that  pre- 
vent spontaneity  in  the  teacher.  These  ruts  produce  a 
degeneration  in  school  work.  As  soon  as  the  head  mas- 
ter begins  to  have  work  of  supervision  over  other  classes 
he  begins  to  recognize  new  and  good  methods,  and  to 
carry  them  from  one  teacher  to  the  next,  thus  helping 
each  by  the  experience  of  all.  He  begins  to  replace 
dead  methods  by  new,  live  ones,  and  there  begins  to  be  a 
vital  circulation  once  more  throughout  the  supervised 
school. 

I  have  seen  a  system  of  schools  adopt  gradually  the 
Boston  method  of  local  supervision.  I  used  to  say  that 
the  school  of  four  rooms,  without  supervision,  attained  a 
degree  of  excellence  that  could  be  symbolized  by  twenty 
to  forty  per  cent.  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  amount  of  real 
ability  brought  into  actual  play  in  the  school  was  only 
twenty  to  forty  per  cent,  of  the  possible  power  of  the 
teachers. 

Again,  in  a  twelve-room  school,  with  a  little  supervis- 
ion on  the  part  of  the  principal  teacher,  the  average 
degree  of  excellence  in  discipline  and  instruction  arose 
to  forty  or  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  possibility  in  the  teach- 
ers. But,  in  a  larger  school,  when  the  principal  teacher 
gave  his  or  her  time  nearly  all  to  supervising,  the  average 
of  actual  excellence  arose  as  high  as  eighty  to  one  hun- 
dred per  cent,  of  the  capacity.  The  assistants  felt  new 
powers  of  work,  and  lived  in  a  sort  of  vitalized  atmos- 
phere, accomplishing  what  they  could  never  have  be- 


72  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

lieved  it  possible  to  accomplish  under  the  system  without 
supervision. 

Organized  supervision  holds  fast  the  ground  already 
gained,  and  moves  on  to  new  achievements,  for  supervis- 
ion means  that  the  individual  contributions  to  methods 
of  discipline  and  instruction  are  seen  by  the  supervisor 
and  carried  to  all  others,  so  that  each  teacher  is  re- 
enforced  by  all,  and  all  by  each. 

The  inventory  of  the  great  items  of  Mr.  Philbrick's 
work  as  an  educator  includes,  besides  the  organization  of 
the  graded  school  system,  a  multitude  of  suggestions  re- 
garding the  proper  methods  of  teaching  special  branches 
of  study.  These  are  to  be  found  scattered  through  his 
school  reports.  The  introduction  of  industrial  drawing 
into  the  Boston  schools,  the  state  law  making  it  obliga- 
tory on  all  cities  of  10,000  inhabitants,  the  importing  of 
the  requisite  experience  and  teaching  ability  from  the 
great  English  Art  School  at  South  Kensington,  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  State  Normal  Art  School,  and,  finally, 
the  spread  of  this  branch  of  instruction  to  all  the  cities 
of  the  land,  —  Mr.  Philbrick  receives  justly  great  honor 
for  the  very  prominent  share  that  he  had  in  this  move- 
ment, both  as  an  originator  and  organizer. 

To  him,  also,  is  due  the  introduction  of  evening 
schools,  schools  for  licensed  minors,  and  the  evening 
high  schools. 

In  the  matters  of  school  architecture  the  questions  of 
hygiene  greatly  interested  him.  He  discusses  the  most 
important  advances  in  this  matter  over  and  over  in  his 
reports.  The  size  of  playgrounds,  gymnastics  and  calis- 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  73 

thenics,  ventilation,  proper  heating,  and,  above  all,  the 
proper  lighting  of  schoolrooms,  were  favorite  themes  of 
discussion  and  suggestion  with  him.  The  size  of  the 
schoolroom,  the  method  of  seating  by  single  desks,  the 
lighting  of  the  room  from  the  left  side  of  the  pupil  by 
numerous  windows  ascending  to  the  ceiling  of  the  room, 
the  proper  size  of  the  school  for  the  best  purposes  of 
grading  and  classification,  have  been  discussed  by  him  in 
a  thoughtful  manner. 

I  come  to  what  is,  perhaps,  his  greatest  intellectual 
trait.  He  believed  in  the  study  of  the  history  of  peda- 
gogy. He  prided  himself  on  possessing  the  best  library 
of  education  to  be  found  in  private  hands  in  America. 
His  motto  was  :  "  Study  education  as  a  whole/'  —  know 
it  as  it  is  at  home  and  abroad.  You  will  find  that  the 
history  of  education  contains  the  career  of  most  educa- 
tional ideas,  showing  their  inception  and  adoption,  and 
their  subsequent  effects,  and,  if  they  proved  wanting  on 
trial,  you  will  find  that  also  in  the  history  of  education. 

He  had  attained  that  noblest  ideal  of  the  supervisor 
which  we  have  described  as  exercising  the  function  of 
taking  from  each  one  the  original  and  valuable  devices  of 
method,  and  transplanting  the  same  into  the  daily  work 
and  routine  of  the  others.  He  now  held  that  the  super- 
visor must  take  all  education,  past  and  present,  into  his 
survey,  and  try  to  improve  his  system  of  schools  by  intro- 
ducing the  good  elements  wherever  found,  and  eliminat- 
ing the  bad.  "  Prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  to  that 
which  is  good."  Of  course  each  teacher  has  his  idio- 
syncrasy and  cannot  be  helped  by  all  methods  that  are 


74  JOHN  D.  PHIL  BRICK. 

good  for  others.  Each  is  in  need  of  some  specific,  as  it 
were ;  hence  there  must  be  careful  and  wise  study  of  the 
history  and  laws  of  growth  of  one's  own  system  before 
one  undertakes  to  modify  it  in  any  particular. 

Mr.  Philbrick's  aim  was  to  be  judicial,  and  not  parti- 
san. This  appeared  even  in  his  style  of  writing  his 
reports.  He  scarcely  completes  a  sentence  advocating  a 
much  needed  reform  before  he  hastens  to  make  qualifi- 
cations suggested  by  experience  and  reflection.  The 
reform  is  not  a  cure-all,  not  a  nostrum  infallible  in  all 
cases,  but  is  good  under  such  and  such  conditions.  He 
proceeds  to  quote  its  hostile  critics,  and  to  show  just 
wherein  they  are  right.  Almost  all  the  great  pedagog- 
ical reformers  have  been  men  of  one  idea.  Mr.  Philbrick 
was  a  many-sided  reformer,  and  held  that  a  reform  is 
unworthy  of  its  name  until  it  can  be  reduced  to  practice. 

With  his  wide  glance  taking  in  the  entire  field  of  edu- 
cation and  cordially  recognizing  genuine  merit  every- 
where, it  was  quite  natural  that  he  came  to  be  recognized 
himself  in  all  quarters  of  the  world.  In  Spain,  Russia, 
Japan,  Austria,  Belgium,  England,  and  Scotland,  and 
especially  in  France,  he  was  the  best  known  of  American 
educators,  and  all  foreign  circles  were  prompt  to  acknowl- 
edge his  eminence  and  show  him  honor.  It  was  fortunate 
for  our  nation  that  Massachusetts  sent  this  man  to  take 
charge  of  its  educational  exhibit  in  1873  at  the  world  expo- 
sition at  Vienna.  It  was  more  fortunate  that  the  Bureau 
of  Education  selected  him  in  1878  as  commissioner  in 
charge  of  our  national  educational  exhibit  at  Paris.  He 
took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance.  Being  thoroughly 


PUBLIC  SEE  VICES.  75 

familiar  with  the  peculiarities  of  all  systems  he  could  come 
at  once  to  the  special  point  of  interest  in  our  own  sys- 
tem which  he  wished  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  for- 
eigner. To  this  ability  is  due  the  fact  that  Massachusetts 
secured  a  grand  diploma  of  honor  at  the  Vienna  Expo- 
sition. At  Paris,  America  carried  off  the  lion's  share  of 
honor  for  its  education.  It  received  121  awards,  more 
than  any  other  nation  except  France  herself.  He  secured 
for  us  by  his  unremitting  diligence  twenty-eight  gold 
medals,  forty-four  silver,  and  twenty-four  bronze  medals, 
besides  twenty-five  certificates  of  honorable  mention. 
The  French  Directory  distinguished  him  personally  for 
his  able  efforts  by  creating  him  a  "  Chevalier  of  Honor  " 
and  an  "  Officer  of  Public  Instruction  "  (with  the  insignia 
of  gold  palm  and  title  of  "  Officer  of  the  Academy"), 
while  the  ancient  and  venerable  University  of  St.  An- 
drews in  Scotland  gave  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws,  "holding  in  regard,"  as  the  Senatus  declared,  "the 
high  merits  of  Mr.  Philbrick's  work  in  the  sphere  of  edu- 
cation." 

The  Belgian  Inspector  of  Schools  declared  that  at 
Vienna  he  learned  more  from  Dr.  Philbrick  than  from 
all  other  sources.  The  Japanese  ministry  make  a  sim- 
ilar strong  acknowledgment  of  his  aid  to  them  in  plant- 
ing English  schools  in  Japan.  In  foreign  accounts  of 
education  in  the  United  States,  the  Boston  system  always 
bears  away  the  palm  as  the  highest  type  of  our  national 
system  of  education.  In  the  generous  report  of  M.  C. 
Hippeau  on  our  education,  in  the  very  favorable  report 
of  Bishop  Fraser,  in  the  hostile  exposition  of  Rev.  James 


76  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

H.  Rigg,  and  finally  in  the  accurate  presentation  of  our 
system  in  Mr.  Francis  Adams*  masterly  work  on  The 
Free  Schools  of  the  United  States,  Boston  stands  foremost 
in  a  rank  all  by  itself. 

M.  Buisson,  French  Commissioner  to  our  Philadelphia 
Exposition,  commends  in  high  terms  the  Boston  schools 
and  pays  equal  honor  to  Mr.  Philbrick.  He  commends 
the  plans  of  the  Boston  school  buildings  and  the  civil  be- 
havior of  the  pupils.  Mr.  Philbrick's  school  reports  were 
and  are  eagerly  sought  for  by  all  directors  of  educa- 
tional systems,  both  here  and  in  Europe.  They  find  an 
author  who  discusses  questions  of  education  in  the  full 
light  of  existing  practice  everywhere. 

These  gratifying  tokens  of  recognition  of  the  subject 
of  our  eulogium  suggest  to  us  that  there  is  a  side  to  his 
personal  character  which  has  been  dwelt  on  by  those  who 
have  spoken  here  to-day  before  me,  that  has  a  national 
and  even  international  significance.  His  conciliatory 
habit  of  mind,  always  endeavoring  to  see  both  sides  of  a 
question  and  always  trying  to  do  justice  to  opponents, 
was  the  basis  of  a  cordial  relation  that  grew  up  between 
himself  and  fellow-educators  everywhere  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe. 

In  private  life  his  amiability  was  charming.  He 
seemed  to  feel  it  his  duty  to  encourage  young  men  in 
the  profession  by  kind  words  of  appreciation  wherever 
he  could  see  any  merit.  In  his  official  visits  to  the 
schools  he  made  the  teacher  feel  that  he  was  a  friend 
and  "  not  a  mere  task-master  trying  to  spy  out  defects." 

Through  his  labor  on  a  programme  of  exercises  for  the 


PUBLIC  SERVICES.  77 

school  he  strove  to  break  up  the  mechanical  modes  of 
drill  which  crept  into  the  system.  Inasmuch  as  educa- 
tion accomplishes  its  good  things  by  repetition  and  drill, 
the  best  work  of  the  teacher  is  continually  liable  to  de- 
generate into  lifeless  routine.  It  is  true  that  in  habit  and 
routine  lies  the  force  of  moral  education.  What  are  reg- 
ularity, punctuality,  silence,  and  industry,  the  four  car- 
dinal virtues  of  school  training,  but  mechanical  habits 
when  thoroughly  learned,  —  notwithstanding  they  lie  at 
the  basis  all  moral  training  whatsoever.  The  pupil  must 
learn  self-restraint  and  subjugate  his  caprice  and  wilful- 
ness  before  he  can  become  a  thoroughly  rational  being. 
How  to  balance  spontaneity  and  prescription  is  the  con- 
stant problem  in  education,  and  this  Dr.  Philbrick  knew 
better  than  any  other  man. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  work  of  the  school 
superintendent  is,  even  at  the  best,  nine  tenths  of  it 
negative  and  preventive,  to  one  tenth  positive  and  con- 
structive. He  has  constant  need  of  vigilance  to  repress 
one-sided  and  injurious  efforts,  —  to  hold  back  even  the 
good  teachers,  even  the  good  members  of  the  school 
committee,  from  extremes.  An  excellent  superintendent 
appears  to  outsiders  as  though  he  were  a  mere  balance- 
wheel,  or  even  a  dead  weight,  hindering  vital  movement 
and  adding  no  momentum  himself. 

But  the  superintendent  must  see  the  real  healthy,  vital 
movement  of  the  system  of  schools,  and,  like  a  good  phy- 
sician, prevent  congestions  and  inflammations  in  any  of 
its  parts.  Occupied  in  this  way  for  most  of  his  time  he 
can  never  receive  his  full  meed  of  appreciation.  He  will 


78  JOHN  D.   PllILBEICK. 

have  bitter  enemies  in  the  schools  and  outside  of  the 
schools. 

Happy,  therefore,  was  Dr.  Philbrick  in  his  uncomplain- 
ing, unresenting  disposition.  Even  in  his  last  great  trial, 
the  gradual  shutting  down  of  darkness  upon  his  eyesight, 
he  was  never  known  to  complain,  and  only  once  indicated 
the  great  affliction  which  his  blindness  was  to  him. 
When  he  found  that  his  eyesight  failed  to  distinguish 
the  large  letters  of  a  new  Bible  which  had  been  pur- 
chased for  his  daily  reading,  the  tears  silently  coursed 
down  his  cheeks,  observed  only  by  his  faithful  mate,  no 
word  indicating  his  deep  sorrow. 

His  cheerfulness  and  courage  in  all  emergencies  was  a 
perpetual  fountain  of  strength  to  all  his  teachers  and  co- 
workers  in  the  system  of  education  wherein  he  performed 
his  life  work. 

In  taking  leave  of  him  after  this  brief  and  inadequate 
summary  of  the  events  which  have  made  him  so  widely 
known  and  respected  by  educators  at  home  and  abroad, 
there  comes  into  my  mind  the  words  that  I  love  to  quote 
from  the  prophet  Daniel, — the  words  which  are  quoted 
in  the  epitaph  on  the  tomb  of  Fichte  in  Berlin :  — 

"  The  teachers  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as 
the  stars  forever  and  ever." 


Reform 

of 

The  Tenure  of  Office  of  Teachers. 


By  John  D.  Philbrick,  LLD. 


REFORM  OF  THE  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS, 


Good  teachers,  and  what  next  ?  There  is  no  nex.t. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  Jules  Simon  in  his  saying,  "The 
master  is  the  school."  In  this  sense  the  great  German 
pedagogue,  when  asked  what  his  system  was,  made  the 
well-known  reply,  "I  am  the  system."  This  was  Gar- 
field's  thought,  when  paying  a  merited  tribute  to  his  great 
college-master,  he  said,  "Give  me  a  log  hut  with  only  a 
simple  bench,  Mark  Hopkins  on  one  end  and  I  on  the 
other,  and  you  may  have  all  the  buildings,  apparatus,  and 
libraries."  This  was  Horace  Mann's  idea  in  declaring 
the  teacher's  seminary  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  instru- 
mentalities for  the  improvement  of  the  race.  Hence, 
the  pivotal  question  in  pedagogy  is  the  question  of  the 
teacher,  everywhere  and  always.  The  cause  of  education 
and  the  cause  of  the  teacher  are  one.  The  best  criterion 
of  merit  in  a  school  system  is  to  be  found  in  the  char- 
acter and  qualities  of  the  teachers  in  its  service. 

There  is  no  really  fruitful  educational  reform  which  does 
not  provide  for  increasing  the  competence  of  teachers. 
The  originators  and  founders  of  our  normal  school  system, 
Olmstead,  Carter,  Russell,  Brooks,  Mann,  Barnard,  and 
others,  all  maintained  and  acted  upon  this  theory.  They 
held  that  the  end  in  view,  the  ideal  education,  imparted 

(81) 


82  JOHN  D.   PHILBBICK. 

in  the  ideal  school,  could  come  only  through  the  ideal 
teacher.  In  maintaining  this  theory  they  stood  on  solid 
ground ;  their  position  was  impregnable.  The  instru- 
mentality which  they  advocated  as  essential  for  the  real- 
ization of  their  idea,  was  the  normal  school  for  the  profes- 
sional training  of  teachers.  Too  much  cannot  be  said  in 
praise  of  their  labors  and  devotion  to  this  great  cause. 
The  establishment  of  normal  schools  was  a  great  achieve- 
ment. It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  normal  school  is 
an  essential  element  in  a  good  school  system.  But  his- 
tory does  not  justify  the  assumption  that  it  is  the  funda- 
mental requisite  for  securing  competent  teachers.  Some- 
thing else  more  fundamental  still  is  necessary  to  the  full 
success  and  the  full  utilization  of  the  capabilities  of  the 
normal  school.  That  prerequisite  is  a  desirable  status 
for  the  teacher  who  has  made  his  preparation  in  the  nor- 
mal school, 

The  creation  of  such  a  status  has  no  doubt  been  too 
much  overlooked  and  neglected  by  our  educational  leaders 
and  reformers,  and  the  reason  is  obvious.  The  indispen- 
sable requisite  for  such  a  status  is  security, — certainty 
of  position  ;  such  security  and  certainty  of  position  as  is 
afforded  by  tenure  of  office  during  efficiency  and  good 
behavior.  Fifty  years  ago  this  reform  was  impracticable. 
Every  school  system  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  in 
substantial  harmony  with  the  other  institutions  of  the 
country  where  it  exists.  In  forming  the  school  system 
of  France,  Guizot  and  Cousin  took  lessons  of  Prussia  and 
Holland,  but  they  were  obliged  to  adapt  their  plan  to 
the  actual  state  of  things  in  their  own  country. 


OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS.      83 

Mr.  Forster,  on  drawing  up  his  school  bill,  the  new 
Magna  Charta  of  the  English  people,  had  at  his  command 
all  the  available  results  of  foreign  experience ;  but  he 
was  under  the  necessity  of  shaping  every  provision  with 
reference  to  existing  national  institutions  and  customs. 
So  our  educational  pioneers  of  half  a  century  ago  had  to 
shape  the  fabric  and  spirit  of  our  school  system,  so  far 
as  they  were  instrumental  in  introducing  modifications 
and  improvements,  in  conformity  with  existing  polit- 
ical and  social  arrangements.  Hence  any  attempt  on 
their  part  to  advocate  any  reform  relating  to  the  status 
of  the  teacher,  in  conflict  with  the  prevailing  theory  and 
practice  touching  the  status  of  other  public  servants, 
would  have  been  impracticable  and  utterly  futile.  Im- 
provements do  not  advance  on  all  lines  simultaneously. 
They  made  advancement  where  advancement  was  pos- 
sible. 

Now  what  was  the  status  of  public  officers  and  em- 
ployes, whether  in  the  service  of  the  Nation,  the  State, 
or  the  municipality,  fifty  years  ago,  in  respect  to  tenure 
of  office  ?  Our  political  institutions  are  founded  upon 
the  theory  that  public  officers  are  public  servants,  and 
precisely  at  that  period,  more  than  at  any  time  in  our 
history,  the  opinion  prevailed  that  the  officers  and  em- 
ployes of  the  public  had  no  interest  or  property  whatever 
in  the  offices  and  situations  which  they  occupied.  Out  of 
this  prevailing  sentiment  grew  the  pernicious  custom  of 
what  is  called  rotation  in  office  ;  where  the  tenure  of 
office  was  not  fixed  by  law,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Judiciary, 
custom  limited  the  tenure  to  one  or  two  years.  Taking 


84  JOHN   D.   PIIILBEICK. 

advantage  of  the  prevalence  of  this  sentiment,  which 
claimed  for  itself  the  credit  of  being  the  spirit  of  true 
democracy,  President  Jackson  inaugurated  the  custom 
of  removing  officers  without  regard  to  their  qualifications 
for  their  duties  or  their  behavior. 

The  assumption  and  exercise  of  this  arbitrary  authority 
made  the  public  officers  in  the  service  of  the  Nation  de- 
pendent for  their  bread  and  butter  on  the  will  of  the 
executive.  Nearly  all  State  officers,  from  the  governor 
down,  held  their  office,  for  the  most  part,  for  a  single 
year  only  ;  the  same  was  the  case  with  municipal  officers, 
including  school  committee.  In  some  States  even  the 
judges  of  the  highest  court  were  elected  by  the  people, 
to  hold  office  for  a  short  determinate  period  ;  and  so  the 
office  of  teacher  of  public  schools,  which,  in  the  days  of 
Master  Cheever,  was  held  by  life  tenure,  was  made  to  con- 
form to  the  general  custom  in  respect  to  tenure  of  office; 
and  even  the  clergy,  who  had  always  held  by  life  tenure, 
began  to  hold  by  a  limited  tenure.  He,  therefore,  must 
have  been  not  only  a  bold  man,  but  an  unwise  one,  who, 
as  an  educational  reformer,  should  have  in  those  days 
dreamed  of  undertaking  to  render  the  status  of  the 
teacher  more  desirable  by  advocating  for  him  a  perma- 
nent tenure  of  office.  Hence  the  reformers  of  those  days 
directed  their  efforts  to  other  objects. 

But  an  immense  change  has  taken  place  since  that 
time  in  public  opinion,  as  well  as  in  legislative  provision, 
respecting  the  tenure  of  office  of  public  officials.  The 
civil  service  reform,  to  which  has  been  accorded  the 
largest  plank  in  the  platform  of  the  dominant  political 


EEFOEM  OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TE AGREES.      85 

party,  is  a  declaration  of  the  principle  that  Justice  to  ser- 
vants is  essential  to  good  service,  and  that  justice  is  incom- 
patible with  the  tenure  of  office,  which  carries  with  it  no 
ownership  or  interest  on  the  part  of  the  incumbent. 

The  essence  of  the  civil  service  reform  consists  in  its 
aim  to  substitute  a  permanent  tenure  of  office  for  the 
short  and  uncertain  tenure  ;  all  the  rest  is  incidental. 
This  carries  with  it  appointments  and  promotions  by 
merit,  and  not  by  favoritism.  This  revolution  in  public 
sentiment  has  made  the  opportunity  to  undertake  a 
reform  in  the  status  of  the  teacher  by  making  his  tenure 
of  office  permanent.  To  secure  a  permanent  tenure 
of  office  for  teachers  in  the  public  schools  is  the  next 
great  step  to  be  taken  in  the  interest  of  the  people's 
schools.  In  my  judgment  this  is  the  most  important 
educational  reform  of  our  school  system  that  has  ever 
been  undertaken.  The  substitution  of  the  permanent 
tenure  for  the  present  precarious  limited  tenure  would 
doubtless  be  regarded  by  teachers  as  a  great  boon,  but  I 
am  looking  more  especially  to  the  public  welfare,  —  the 
public  interest  is  the  paramount  interest 

The  theory  which  it  is  my  present  purpose  to  pro- 
pound and  advocate  is  this  :  Permanency  of  tenure  would 
enormously  increase  the  desirableness  of  the  teacher's 
status  ;  that  while  it  costs  nothing  to  the  public  to  grant 
this  permanency,  to  the  teachers  it  would  be  an  inesti- 
mable boon  ;  that,  as  a  means  of  compensating  teachers, 
it  would  be  equivalent  to  a  vast  increase  of  school  rev- 
enue ;  that  the  salary,  even  though  raised  to  the  highest 
practicable  limit,  when  subject  to  the  offset  of  short  and 


86  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

precarious  tenure,  with  all  its  train  of  evils,  is  insufficient 
to  bring  into  the  service  of  teaching,  and  retain  there  the 
requisite  teaching  talent,  In  substance,  then,  the  ques- 
tion of  permanent  tenure  for  teachers  is,  in  the  first 
place,  a  question  of  economy,  —  the  question  of  conser- 
vation of  forces  ;  that  is,  the  question  whether  the  money 
compensation  of  te'achers  shall  be  in  effect  largely  sup- 
plemented by  what  costs  nothing.  In  the  second  place, 
it  is  a  question  of  educational  results, — for  salary  plus 
permanent  tenure  is  the  indispensable  condition  of  the 
ideal  teaching  corps,  and  hence  the  indispensable  con- 
dition of  the  ideal  school  and  the  ideal  education. 

The  reasoning  on  which  this  theory  is  based  is  ex- 
tremely simple,  and  is  the  following  : 

1.  Permanancy   of    situation   everywhere  and   always 
counts  largely  with  the  salary  in  estimating  the  emolu- 
ment of  the  situation,  and  it  is  self-evident  that  these 
two   elements   together  are  greater  than   one   of   them 
alone, 

2.  The  addition  of  permanency  of  tenure  to  salary  is 
necessary  to  make  teaching  a  career  sufficiently  attractive 
for  persons  of  ability  and  culture,  as  a  life  work,  and  it 
is  only  from  such  persons  devoted  to  teaching  as  a  life 
work  that  the  best  teaching  can  come. 

This  reasoning  is  the  plain  lesson  of  history,  which  he 
who  runs  may  read.  It  is  well  known  that  the  German 
States,  and  more  especially  Prussia,  took  the  lead  in  the 
organization  and  development  of  the  modern  system  of 
public  instruction.  And  it  appears  that  in  Prussia  from 
the  outset  the  life  tenure  of  office  for  the  teachers  was 


REFORM  OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS.      87 

adopted  as  the  first  principle  of  the  incipient  system ; 
and,  in  fact,  the  Prussian  law  long  ago  expressly  prohib- 
ited the  appointment  of  any  regular  teacher  for  a  deter- 
minate period.  This  was  the  original  stock  upon  which 
improvements  were  from  time  to  time  grafted,  until  at 
length  its  present  vigor,  completeness,  and  symmetry 
of  development  have  been  produced.  Forty  years  ago 
Horace  Mann  thus  characterized  the  teachers  produced 
by  this  system :  "  As  a  body  of  men  their  character  is 
more  enviable  than  that  of  any  of  the  three  so-called 
'professions/  '  In  all  the  other  European  countries  the 
point  of  departure  and  the  process  of  development  have 
been  substantially  the  same.  It  is  safe,  I  think,  to  say 
that  in  no  one  of  them  has  it  been  thought  expedient  to 
attempt  to  carry  on  a  system  of  schools  on  the  plan  of 
choosing  teachers  for  a  short,  determinate  period. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  have  everywhere  been 
taken  for  granted  that  there  could  not  be  such  a  thing  as 
an  efficient  and  economical  school  system  without  making 
provision  for  securing  the  services  of  teachers  who  should 
be  devoted  to  the  business  of  instruction  as  a  life  pro- 
fession. Accordingly,  we  find  that,  although  public 
school  teachers  have,  perhaps,  nowhere  received  entirely 
satisfactory  treatment,  they  have  generally  been  secure 
in  their  position  and  in  their  revenues,  all  too  slender 
though  they  may  have  been.  Thus  the  beginning  was 
made  by  laying  a  foundation  for  a  status  of  dignity  and 
independence.  This  was  all  important  as  the  initial  pro- 
vision. The  rest  followed  logically,  although  not  without 
delays  and  difficulties.  As  it  is  the  teacher  that  gives 


88  JOHN  D.   PHILBBICK. 

character  to  the  school,  which  no  well-informed  person 
will  deny,  so  we  find  that  most  of  the  measures  of  prog- 
ress and  improvement  have  been  such  as  were  calculated 
to  ameliorate  the  condition  and  elevate  the  status  of  the 
teacher,  to  provide  better  professional  training,  to  im- 
prove the  scheme  of  examination  and  certificating  of  can- 
didates, to  increase  the  compensation,  to  secure  a  more 
competent  and  trustworthy  superintendence  and  inspec- 
tion, to  afford  the  best  means  of  appreciating  and  reward- 
ing merit.  These  were  the  objects  always  uppermost  in 
the  aims  and  efforts  of  intelligent  promoters  of  educa- 
tional progress.  And  thus  by  degress  have  been  created 
the  conditions  requisite  to  render  teaching  a  veritable 
career ;  not  a  career,  indeed,  leading  to  wealth  and  lux- 
ury, but  a  career  of  assured  independence,  dignity,  and 
support. 

In  our  country  the  point  of  departure  and  the  process 
of  development  have  been  quite  different  from  those  we 
have  considered.  We  have  undertaken  to  develop  and 
build  up  an  efficient  system  of  instruction  while  acting 
on  the  assumption  that  the  teacher  cannot  be  recognized 
as  having  a  claim  to  any  ownership  in  a  position  of 
service. 

In  a  French  report  on  English  schools  it  is  stated  as  a 
curious  absurdity,  that  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
trustees  of  a  certain  old  endowed  school  in  London,  the 
headmaster  is  summoned  into  their  presence,  and  in- 
formed that  the  term  of  his  service  is  at  an  end  and  the 
mastership  vacant.  Thereupon,  if  he  desires  to  be  con- 
sidered a  candidate  for  reelection  he  so  states,  and  retires 


REFORM  OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS.      89 

and  waits  for  the  result  of  the  ballot.  This  is  a  type  of 
the  tenure  of  office  of  substantially  all  American  public 
school  teachers.  Their  position  is  not  assured  beyond 
the  term  of  one  year.  Nor  is  this  the  worst  condition 
of  their  tenure ;  there  is  a  lower  deep  yet.  In  general, 
the. public  school  teacher  may  be  dismissed  within  the 
year  for  which  he  is  elected  by  a  majority  of  the  school 
board,  the  teacher  so  dismissed  having  no  legal  right  to 
a  previous  notice,  a  hearing,  or  appeal  to  a  superior 
authority.  This  is  the  tenure  in  Massachusetts,  and  so 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  it  is  substantially 
the  same  in  other  states. 

Mr.  Boutwell,  in  speaking  of  this  in  his  commentary 
on  the  Massachusetts  school  law,  justly  remarks,  "This 
power  is  as  nearly  absolute  as  any  power  in  our  govern- 
ment." In  point  of  law,  therefore,  the  American  public 
school  teacher  holds  office  securely  not  even  for  the  short 
period  of  one  year.  His  position,  salary,  and  professional 
standing  are  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of  the  local  com- 
mittee. A  majority  of  a  quorum  of  the  school  board,  by 
a  secret  ballot,  may  dismiss  him  without  a  day's  notice, 
without  bringing  any  charge  against  him,  and  the  dis- 
missal so  made  is  absolute  and  final.  This  tenure  may 
have  some  slight  safeguards  in  some  states,  or  some  in- 
dividual cities ;  if  so,  let  them  be  known  and  credited 
therefor.  The  only  exception  within  my  knowledge 
worthy  of  mention  is  that  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
the  tenure  is  permanent,  removals  being  made  only  for 
cause.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  in  the  cities  of 
Brooklyn,  Jersey  City,  and  Newark,  the  tenure  is  also 


90  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICE. 

during  efficiency  and  good  behavior.  In  our  system, 
therefore  there  has  been  provided  as  yet  no  solid  foun- 
dation upon  which  to  build  up  a  desirable  status  for  the 
teacher  ;  consequently  little  has  been  done  to  environ  the 
teacher's  office  with  the  subsidiary  guarantees  requisite 
to  constitute  a  career  of  teaching  service.  The  condition 
of  absolute  insecurity  and  dependence  in  respect  to  posi- 
tion is  necessarily  compensated  in  some  degree  by  the 
rate  of  the  salary.  In  fact,  our  system,  instead  of  taking 
permanency  of  tenure  as  the  point  of  departure  from 
which  to  develop  a  competent  teaching  corps  in  accord- 
ance with  the  opinion  and  practice  prevailing  in  all  other 
enlightened  countries,  has  relied  primarily  and  mainly 
upon  compensation  in  money  as  the  mainspring  in  the 
scheme  for  securing  the  desired  teaching  service. 

This  peculiarly  and  distinctively  American  feature  of 
public  instruction  is  coeval  with  the  modern  organization 
of  our  school  system.  It  has  been  on  trial  for  a  long 
time,  on  an  extensive  scale  and  with  all  sorts  of  condi- 
tions. It  is  time  now  to  ask,  What  has  been  the  outcome 
of  this  experiment  ?  In  reply  to  this  question  it  may  be 
said,  without  contradiction,  that  the  American  plan  of 
dealing  with  teachers  has  not  built  up  a  stable  and  perma- 
nent profession  of  teaching. 

The  failure  of  our  system  of  instruction  to  secure  the 
services  of  a  body  of  teachers  devoted  for  life  to  the  work 
was  set  forth  in  the  remarkable  Report  on  American 
Education  by  the  French  Commission,  of  which  the  emi- 
nent educator,  M.  Buisson,  was  the  president,  and  con- 
trasted with  the  success  in  this  respect  of  the  French 


REFORM  OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS.     91 

system.  "In  France,"  says  the  reporter,* "one  embraces 
the  career  of  teaching  with  the  intention  of  creating  for 
himself  a  stable  and  permanent  position.  Those  who 
abandon  it  before  having  obtained  their  retiring  pension 
form  the  exception.  The  young  beginner  expects  to  live 
and  die  a  teacher ;  and  each  year  of  exercise  adding  to 
the  experience  previously  acquired,  a  moment  arrives 
when,  possessing  a  competency  of  knowledge,  both  theo- 
retical and  practical,  he  can  conduct  his  school  with 
method,  with  success,  and  thus  limit  the  role  of  his  supe- 
riors to  simple  encouragement  and  kindly  advice.  In  the 
United  States  it  is  otherwise.  The  profession  of  a 
teacher  would  appear  to  be  a  sort  of  stage,  where  the 
girl  waits  for  an  establishment  suited  to  her  taste,  and 
the  young  man  a  more  lucrative  position.  For  many 
young  persons  this  temporary  profession  is  the  means  of 
procuring  the  funds  to  continue  their  studies.  Few  mas- 
ters count  more  than  four  or  five  years  of  service,  and  if 
instructresses  remain  longer  in  the  profession  it  must  be 
remembered  that  marriage  is  ordinarily  the  end  of  their 
desires  ;  and  that  once  married,  they  almost  always 
withdraw  from  the  service." 

If  this  is  the  correct  statement  of  the  case,  and  that  it 
is,  I  think  will  be  generally  agreed,  then  our  system  has 
failed  to  create  a  stable,  permanent  profession  of  teach- 
ing ;  while  such  a  profession  has  been  created  not  only 
by  the  French  system,  but  by  the  systems  of  all  other 
enlightened  countries  except  our  own.  My  inference  is 

*  Monsieur  B.  Berger,  Inspector  General  and  Director  of  National  Peda- 
gogical Museum. 


92  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

that  the  failure  of  our  system  in  this  vital  particular  is 
owing  to  the  short  and  precarious  tenure  of  office  of  the 
teacher.  No  argument  is  needed  to  prove  that,  other 
things  being  equal,  teaching  as  a  career,  as  a  life-work, 
yields  vastly  better  results  than  teaching  as  a  temporary 
occupation. 

I  would  not  be  understood,  however,  to  admit  for  a 
moment  that  our  system  of  free  schools,  as  a  whole,  has 
been  a  failure ;  on  the  contrary,  it  has  been  a  great  suc- 
cess, whatever  may  be  said  in  its  disparagement  from 
ignorance  or  bad  intent.  The  last  thought  given  to  the 
world  by  Barnas  Sears,  than  whom  no  higher  authority 
on  the  subject  can  be  cited,  bore  on  this  point,  and  was 
expressed  in  the  following  words  :  "  If  the  old  district 
school  in  New  England,  imperfect  as  it  was,  bore  good 
fruit,  which  none  deny,  the  modern  system,  with  its  man- 
ifold improvements,  has  borne  them  much  more  abun- 
dantly ;  and  yet  we  have  not  reached  the  goal  for  which 
we  are  striving."  This  is  the  testimony  of  a  wise  and 
true  reformer,  ripe  in  wisdom,  and  experience,  who  recog- 
nized and  defended  acquisitions  already  won  while  ear- 
nestly striving  for  still  further  advancement. 

The  goal  for  which  we  are  all  confessedly  striving  is 
the  most  economical  and  efficient  system  of  instruction, 
and  the  history  of  education  proves  that  the  best  results 
in  instruction  are  produced  only  where  teaching  is  pur- 
sued as  a  career  for  life  ;  and  second,  it  teaches  also  that 
permanency  of  tenure  is  essential  as  a  means  of  rendering 
teaching  a  desirable  career. 

To  render  the  permanent  tenure  effectual  it  must  be 


REFORM  OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS.     93 

accompanied  by  a  permanent,  that  is,  an  irreducible  sal- 
ary, as  control  of  salary  is  virtually  control  of  tenure. 

We  know  what  the  objector  to  this  plan  will  say  :  Your 
permanent  tenure,  with  its  irreducible  salary,  constitutes 
without  doubt  a  desirable  status  for  the  teacher,  provid- 
ing the  rate  of  salary  is  not  too  low.  Whatever  other 
tribulations  may  await  the  teacher,  he  has  no  longer  any 
risks  to  run ;  he  has  no  longer  to  submit  to  an  annual 
humiliation  in  the  shape  of  an  annual  election  ;  his  repu- 
tation and  his  living  are  no  longer  at  the  mercy  of  incom- 
petent and  prejudiced  school  officers.  His  status  is  in- 
vested with  dignity  and  independence  ;  he  can  hold  up 
his  head  like  a  man,  and  look  the  whole  world  in  the  face. 
But  in  all  this  what  have  we  done  but  shift  the  risk  from 
the  employe  to  the  employer,  from  the  teacher  to  the 
public ;  you  have  insured  the  teacher  against  risk,  but 
what  guaranty  has  the  public  that  the  teacher  will  do  his 
duty  when  he  has  no  longer  the  fear  of  losing  his  situ- 
ation, to  act  as  a  spurr  to  effort.  Are  not  the  annual 
election  and  the  power  of  summary  dismissal  necessary 
means  of  stimulating  teachers  to  vigorous  and  sustained 
effort,  and  of  removing  those  who  are  delinquent  and 
incompetent ;  and,  besides,  is  not  this  permanency  of 
tenure  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  our  free  institutions,  and 
too  un-American  to  find  favor  with  us  ? 

To  this  question,  which  embodies  the  substance  of  all 
that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  annual  election,  and  the 
power  of  summary  dismissal,  I  reply  :  First,  that  the  pre- 
carious tenure  has  not  been  found  necessary  for  the  end 
in  view  in  any  other  enlightened  country  on  the  globe ; 


94  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

and,  second,  in  our  own  country,  the  annual  election  is 
unknown  in  universities,  colleges,  and  the  higher  educa- 
tional institutions,  generally,  outside  of  the  public  school 
system,  so  that  this  odious  annual  election  has  no  place 
in  the  civilized  world  except  the  public  schools  of  the 
United  States.  But  we  do  not  deny  that  the  public 
should  be  guaranteed  against  risk  as  well  as  the  teacher. 
In  the  adjustment  of  compensation  and  service  the  rela- 
tion of  risks  must  always  be  taken  into  account.  In  this 
case  the  guaranty  of  the  public  against  risk  is  perfectly 
feasible,  as  experience  has  satisfactorily  proved.  This 
guaranty  consists  of  six  distinct  provisions  : 

1.  A   thorough  professional    training   of   teachers  in 
normal  schools  suited  to  their  destined  functions.     This 
is  necessary  as  the  primary  guaranty  against  the  appoint- 
ment  of   teachers    without   the   requisite   qualifications. 
And  it  is  evident  that  the  state  could  afford  a  more  lib- 
eral expenditure  for  the  education  of  a  teacher  who  is  to 
serve  the  public  thirty  or  forty  years  than  for  the  teacher 
who  is  to  serve  only  three  or  four  years.     Only  a  small 
fraction  of  the  teachers  now  engaged  in  the  service  are 
graduates  of  normal  schools,  there  being  no  one  state 
that  has  not  recoiled  before  the  task  of  securing  to  the 
whole  body  of  teachers  a  professional  education,  and  this 
is  because  of  the  very  great  number  of  teachers  which 
teaching  as  a  temporary  employment  necessitates. 

2.  Another  guaranty  should  be  provided  by  a  system 
of  examining  and  certificating  teachers  by  experts  wholly 
under  the  control  of  the  central  authorities  ;  and,  besides, 
the  local  certificate,  the  only  one,  with  few  exceptions, 


EEFOEM  OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS.     95 

now  issued,  does  little  for  the  establishment  of  the  stand- 
ing and  reputation  of  the  holder.  But  a  certificate 
granted  by  the  central  authority,  and  valid  throughout 
the  state,  would  create  a  professional  rank  and  standing 
which  would  elevate  the  status  of  the  holders.* 

3.  As  a  third   condition  requisite  to   the  permanent 
tenure,    probationary   service   must   be   provided.      The 
candidate  must  not  only  have  his  certificate,  but  he  must 
prove  his  capacity  by  actual  service  in  teaching,  before  he 
can  claim  a  definitive  appointment.     The  period  of  pro- 
bation should  not  be  less  than  two  years,  and  it  might 
well   be  three  or  four.      The   judgment   on    the   result 
should  be  rendered  by  one  or  more  approved  experts.     If 
a  further  guaranty  against  failure  is  deemed  expedient,  it 
may  be  obtained  by  an  examination  at  the  end  of  the  pro- 
bation, bearing  especially  on  the  practical  work  of  °the 
schoolroom. 

4.  As  to  the  choice  to  be  made  among  candidates  thus 
prepared,  the  most  judicious  method  appears  to  be  for 
the  superior  school  authority  to  nominate  three  or  four 
candidates,  having  regard  both  to  seniority  and   merit, 
and  that  the  election  from  this  list  should  be  left  to  the 
local  committee. 

5.  Provision  for  a  suitable  hierarchical  situation  for  the 
teacher.  Such  a  situation  would  comprise  a  competent 
supervision  and  the  other  means  requisite  for  stimulating 
the  teacher  to  the  best  efforts,  by  recognizing  his  worth 
and  rewarding  his  merits  ;  and  such  a  situation  would 
also  comprise  the  necessary  machinery  for  administering 

*  Provision  has  been  made  for  state  certificates  in  a  few  of  the  states. 


96  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

just  and  salutary  discipline  in  cases  of  delinquency.  In 
France  the  hierarchical  situation  is  so  well  contrived  that 
the  young  man  of  talents,  entering  upon  his  career  as 
primary  teacher  in  the  remotest  mountain  hamlet,  may 
hope  to  reach,  by  well-earned  promotions,  the  principal- 
ship  of  a  metropolitan  school,  or  to  become  director  of  a 
normal  school,  or  even  inspector. 

"It  is  the  function  of  a  good  administration,"  says  the 
eminent  Belgian  publicist  and  educator,  De  Laveleye, 
"  to  seek  by  fixed  rules  which  science  indicates  to  ascer- 
tain merit,  and  to  class  individuals  according  to  their  ap- 
titudes ;  then  there  would  be  an  end  of  solicitations,  of 
subserviency,  of  intrigues,  of  protections,  of  favors,  of 
injustices."  And  this  is  the  paradise  for  which  the 
teacher  prays.  He  wants  to  feel  that  he  owes  his  posi- 
tion to  his  merit,  and  not  to  favor,  and  to  be  sure  that  his 
efforts  will  be  appreciated  and  recompensed.  It  is  per- 
haps, in  vain  to  hope  that  the  public  school  teacher's 
path  may  be  strewn  with  roses,  but  hitherto  it  has  been 
too  much  hedged  up  with  briers  and  thorns ;  but  the  su- 
preme misery  of  his  lot  is  to  be  judged  by  incompetents. 
This  would  necessarily  be  mitigated  by  the  better  super- 
vision which  the  permanent  tenure  would  require. 

6.  A  retiring  pension  is  requisite,  not  only  as  a  secur- 
ity for  old  age,  but  as  a  means  of  rendering  practicable 
the  retirement  of  the  aged  and  fatigued  public  servant, 
without  reflecting  on  his  reputation  or  abandoning  him 
to  destitution. 

These  six  conditions  are  logically  involved  in  the  full 
and  complete  application  of  the  principle  of  fixity  of  ten- 


REFORM  OF  TENURE  OF  OFFICE  OF  TEACHERS.     97 

ure.  Moreover,  they  are  at  the  same  time  the  means  of 
producing  an  equilibrium  of  risks  and  of  authorities, 
which  experience  has  proved  to  be  indispensable  to  the 
most  efficient,  economical,  and  harmonious  working  of  a 
school  system. 

In  every  point  of  view  this  reform  in  our  system  seems 
to  me  fundamental  in  its  importance ;  all  others  are  but 
secondary,  subordinate,  accessory.  It  may  seem  to  the 
timid  to  be  a  bold  undertaking,  but  it  is  not  more  bold  in 
the  present  circumstances  than  was  the  project  of  state 
normal  schools,  or  the  project  of  a  state  board  of  educa- 
tion fifty  years  ago.  Every  epoch  has  its  peculiar  task. 
This  reform  I  verily  believe  to  be  the  task  of  the  hour 
for  the  friends  of  educational  progress.  Public  senti- 
ment is  now  everywhere  drifting  in  this  direction.  In 
the  powerful  movement  which  has  been  begun  to  reform 
the  civil  service,  I  plainly  see  the  dawning  of  a  new  and 
better  day  for  the  public  school  and  the  public  school 
teacher.  The  press  is  daily  teeming  with  arguments  for 
our  cause,  for  the  principles  of  a  good  civil  service  are 
essentially  the  same  as  the  principles  of  a  good  educa- 
tional service.  Hence  the  achievement  of  the  civil  ser- 
vice reform  will  prepare  the  way  for  this  reform.  The 
spoils  system  and  the  annual  election  are  twin  barbar- 
isms, and  with  the  abolition  of  the  former  the  latter 
must  go. 

But  permanent  tenure  is  not  to  be  brought  into  suc- 
cessful operation  by  a  single  legislative  act.  This  rad- 
ical reform  must  be  reached  by  a  series  of  steps.  Initia- 
tory steps  have  already  been  taken  in  various  quarters. 


98  JOHN  D.   PHIL  BRICK. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that,  at  the  late  session  of  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature,  the  chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Public  Service  offered  to  include  the  teaching 
service  in  the  provision  of  the  civil  service  reform  bill 
reported  by  his  committee.  This  reform  must  begin 
practically  in  the  cities  and  larger  towns.  Teachers  have 
their  duty  in  connection  with  this  task.  Everywhere 
they  should  pour  in  their  petitions  and  memorials  upon 
the  legislatures,  throughout  the  country,  and  do  their 
share  of  the  work  in  creating  public  opinion  which  shall 
demand  this  reform. 


Last 'Days 

and 
Funeral  Rites. 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNERAL  RITES, 


LAST   DATS. 

Dr.  Philbrick's  last  sickness  probably  dates  back  to  the 
spring  of  1882,  when  he  made  a  journey  to  the  far  West. 
This  journey  involved  some  long  and  tedious  rides, 
which,  with  the-  labor  of  visiting  schools,  were  too  great 
a  tax  upon  his  strength.  In  June,  after  his  return  home, 
he  was  so  ill  as  to  call  his  family  physician,  Dr.  Carlton. 
For  two  months,  July  and  August,  he  was  confined  to 
the  house,  in  which  time  he  read  much,  and  often  in  bed. 
In  October  he  seemed  to  take  a  severe  cold,  which  so 
affected  his  eyes  that  they  were  sore  and  painful.  In 
time,  as  the  result  of  some  simple  remedies,  they  became 
comparatively  well,  but,  when  the  cold  winds  of  winter 
set  in,  they  again  became  very  painful,  so  much  so  that 
Dr.  Carlton  wished  an  oculist  to  see  them. 

Accordingly,  Dr.  Coggin  of  Salem  was  called  to  see 
him  in  January,  1883.  He  pronounced  the  disease  a 
severe  rheumatic  affection,  but  he  also  saw  indications  of 
what  his  friends  had  already  feared,  namely,  a  loss  of 
sight.  This  Dr.  Philbrick  had  himself  feared  from  the 
very  first,  as  an  inherited  trouble,  because  several  of  his 
relatives  on  his  mother's  side  had  been  totally  blind. 

001) 


102  JOHN  D.  PHILBKICK. 

In  January,  1884,  Drs.  Coggin  and  Carlton  performed 
an  operation  upon  one  eye,  hoping  to  let  more  light  into 
it,  but  the  operation  was  not  a  success,  and  so  the  exper- 
iment was  not  repeated  upon  the  other  eye.  From  this 
time  on  his  sight  became  more  and  more  impaired.  Still 
he  was  able  to  move  about  his  own  house  with  compar- 
ative ease ;  but,  when  in  a  strange  place,  he  moved  so 
much  more  cautiously  that  he  seemed  to  see  much  less 
than  at  home. 

In  the  spring  of  1884  he  began  his  work  on  City 
School  Systems  in  the  United  States.  His  devoted  wife 
read  to,  and  wrote  for  him.  So  constantly  did  he  work 
that,  by  the  end  of  August,  he  had  the  work  more  than 
half  written.  At  that  time  he  employed  an  amanuensis, 
Miss  Dudley,  a  relative  of  his,  who  spent  a  year  with 
him.  She  was  a  graduate  of  the  Salem  Normal  School, 
and  was  thus  pretty  well  prepared  for  the  work  required 
of  her.  During  the  year  which  Miss  Dudley  read  and 
wrote  for  him,  he  finished  his  work  on  City  Systems,  and 
wrote  the  paper  on  School  Reports,  which  is  printed  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Education  for  1885  ;  he 
also  did  a  great  amount  of  preparatory  reading,  making 
notes,  etc.,  for  a  work  on  State  Systems,  which  he  hoped 
to  write  in  the  winter  of  1885-6.  It  was  in  the  summer 
of  1884  that  he  gave  the  address  before  the  American 
Institute  on  "  Reform  of  Tenure  of  Office  of  Teachers." 

In  the  summer  of  1885  he,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Phil- 
brick,  went  to  Hanover,  where  he  served  on  the  examin- 
ing committee  of  the  college ;  then  to  Newport  to  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Institute,  then  to  Saratoga  to 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNERAL  EITES.  103 

attend  the  meetings  of  the  Council  of  Education.  All 
these  meetings  he  enjoyed  very  much,  especially  those  at 
Saratoga,  where  he  met  so  many  western  friends.  In 
September  of  the  same  year  he  visited  his  old  home  in 
Deerfield.  It  seems  not  unlikely  that  all  the  work  of 
this  summer  was  too  much  for  his  impaired"  strength,  for 
the  first  severely  cold  weather  in  December  seemed  to 
affect  him  unfavorably,  so  much  so  that  he  said  he 
"could  not  think  well." 

There  were  several  times  during  the  last  year  of  his 
life  when  he  could  not  speak  the  word  he  wished  to  use 
when  talking,  and  twice  he  lost  entirely  the  power  of 
speech  for  an  instant.  This  he  felt  to  be  "  an  indication 
of  something  serious/'  a  premonition  of  what  came  at 
last  and  caused  his  death.  He  once  spoke  to  his  doctor 
of  it,  though,  in  talking  of  it,  he  called  it  a  trouble  of  the 
heart ;  so  it  would  seem  doubtful  whether  he  felt  clear 
in  his  own  mind  what  the  real  nature  of  the  trouble  was. 

The  weather  of  the  week  preceding  his  fatal  attack 
was  very  cold,  so  that  he  gave  up  his  ride  which  he  was 
accustomed  to  take  almost  every  day ;  this  was  through 
fear  of  bringing  on  pain  in  his  eyes.  Up  to  Saturday, 
the  i6th  of  January,  1885,  he  had  hoped  he  should  be 
able  to  go  to  Boston  the  next  week  to  attend  the  Quincy 
School  reunion,  but  that  day  he  said  if  it  continued  so 
cold  he  could  not  go.  On  Sunday  he  did  not  seem  as 
well  as  usual.  He  complained  of  headache,  so  much  so 
that  his  wife  did  not  leave  him  to  attend  church.  When 
Monday  morning  came  he  said  he  did  not  feel  like  get- 
ting up,  but  must  dictate  some  letters,  one  especially  to 


104  JOHN  D.  PUILBBICK. 

the  Quincy  School  boys.  His  wife  advised  him  to  wait 
till  afternoon,  hoping  he  might  get  some  sleep  and  feel 
better.  He  took  his  dinner  in  bed  and  then  dictated 
three  letters. 

It  was  then  so  late  that  Mrs.  Philbrick  feared  the 
amanuensis  would  not  have  time  to  copy  them  before  the 
mail  would  leave,  and  stepped  down  into  the  library  to 
help  her.  When  she  went  back  to  him,  he  said,  "It  has 
come ;  something  is  the  matter  with  my  arm."  His 
wife,  thinking  it  might  be  numbness,  rubbed  his  arm, 
but  he  evidently  thought  differently.  She  gave  him 
some  hot  drinks,  hoping  to  start  the  circulation  more 
freely,  and  he  soon  seemed  to  feel  better.  When  tea- 
time  came  he  took  a  cup  of  tea  and  a  bit  of  toast.  Mrs. 
Philbrick  then  went  down  to  supper,  and  upon  her 
return  inquired  how  he  felt,  but  he  could  not  readily 
answer,  and  she  became  alarmed  and  summoned  the 
nearest  physician. 

This  was  on  Monday  evening,  Jan.  18,  1886.  Dr. 
Philbrick  gradually  sank,  and  died  the  second  day  of 
February  following. 

Thus  ended  a  noble  life.  Never  was  the  true  nobility 
of  his  nature  more  clearly  manifested  than  during  those 
years  of  approaching  darkness.  It  was  the  good  fortune 
of  the  writer  to  visit  him  often  in  his  home  during  that 
time,  and  he  never  failed  to  be  impressed  with  the  sweet- 
ness of  his  nature  and  the  cheerful  Christian  resignation 
with  which  he  bore  his  great  misfortune.  Indeed,  from 
anything  in  the  tone  of  his  conversation,  no  one  could 
ever  mistrust  that  he  thought  approaching  blindness  any- 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNEEAL  RITES.  105 

thing  more  than  a  part  of  the  experience  that  was  ap- 
pointed for  him  by  a  kind  Father.  Then  with  what 
kindness  and  broad  charity  he  always  spoke  of  his  for- 
mer co-workers  !  He  seemed  delighted  to  remember  all 
the  good  and  noble  deeds  and  all  the  generous  words 
which  he  had  known  of  others,  but  to  consign  differences 
to  oblivion.  Many  a  silent  blessing  and  inspiration  has 
been  carried  from  that  noble,  patient  presence.  He  still 
lives  in  word  and  deed. 

THE   FUNERAL   SERVICES. 

The  funeral  of  Dr.  Philbrick  was  at  his  home  in  Dan- 
vers,  Feb.  4.  The  public  schools  of  Boston  were  closed 
for  the  day  as  a  token  of  respect  to  his  memory.  The 
day  was  one  of  the  coldest  and  most  uncomfortable  of 
the  season,  and  yet  a  large  number  of  friends  from  Bos- 
ton attended  the  services.  Among  them  were  the  super- 
intendent of  schools,  several  members  of  the  Board  of 
Supervisors,  a  large  number  of  the  principals,  and  sev- 
eral former  members  of  the  School  Committee  who  had 
served  with  Mr.  Philbrick.  In  addition  to  these,  many 
teachers  from  other  towns,  many  business  men,  and  a 
large  number  of  neighbors  and  friends  from  Danvers 
were  in  attendance,  so  that  the  house  was  crowded  with 
those  desirous  of  honoring  the  distinguished  dead. 

The  Boston  masters  showed  their  old-time  love  by  tak- 
ing with  them  a  beautiful  floral  tribute  in  the  form  of  a 
closed  book,  on  the  cover  of  which  was  a  crescent  of 
roses  and  lilies,  and  within  the  crescent  the  word 


106  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

CLOSED  made  of  carnations.  The  casket  was  placed 
in  the  parlor  beneath  a  fine  oil  portrait  of  the  deceased. 
The  portrait  was  entwined  with  smilax.  The  tribute  of 
the  Boston  masters  was  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  casket. 
The  services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Charles  B.  Rice, 
of  Danvers,  Mr.  Philbrick's  pastor.  He  read  from  the 
Scriptures  the  solemn  sentences  for  the  dead,  beginning 
with  the  passage,  "  Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling 
place  in  all  generations/'  and  following  with  the  twenty- 
third  Psalm,  and  with  other  selections  setting  forth  the 
Christian  hope  concerning  the  resurrection  of  the  dead 
and  the  life  to  come.  He  made,  also,  a  brief  address, 
reviewing  such  portions  of  Mr.  Philbrick's  life  as  had 
come  under  his  own  observation,  and  touching  upon  the 
singular  value  of  the  services  he  had  rendered  to  the 
public. 

ADDRESS    OF    REV.    CHARLES    B.    RICE. 

Mr.  Philbrick's  chosen  work  has  all  been  in  the  line  of 
the  elevation  of  mankind.  It  has  been,  throughout,  a 
work  of  enlightenment,  and  instruction,  and  guidance  for 
men.  It  was  work  of  a  higher  order  than  that  by  which 
many  persons  gain  for  themselves  distinction.  Now  that 
it  is  ended,  his  friends  may  review  it  with  ample  satisfac- 
tion and  with  gratitude. 

His  life  was  in  many  ways  representative,  also,  of  the 
best  things  in  New  England.  There  hangs  upon  the 
wall  a  picture  of  his  early  home,  —  the  house  in  which  he 
was  born,  —  a  typical  New  England  farmhouse.  From 
such  homes  have  come  many  of  the  men  who  have  been 
most  conspicuous  in  the  world,  and  whose  lives  have 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNERAL  RITES.  107 

most  adorned  and  enriched  the  land.  Mr.  Philbrick  him- 
self had  always  a  love  for  the  place  of  his  nativity,  and 
for  all  the  places  associated  with  the  events  of  his  domes- 
tic life.  He  cherished  this  sentiment  with  respect  to 
this  spot  and  the  house  within  which  these  funeral  ob- 
servances are  held.  Near  at  hand  is  the  schoolhouse  in 
which  one  of  his  first  schools  was  taught.  Still  nearer 
stands  the  ancient  house  in  which  he  found  the  lady  who 
became  his  wife.  It  was  characteristic,  therefore,  and 
fitting  with  him,  that  he  should  retire  to  spend  here  his 
closing  years.  The  people  of  the  neighborhood  and 
town  have  taken  great  interest  and  satisfaction  in  his 
dwelling  among  them.  He  was  himself,  to  a  rare  degree, 
a  man  of  genial  feelings  and  kindly  sympathies.  He 
entered  easily  into  the  thoughts  of  children.  He  was 
marked  as  much  by  gentleness  as  by  breadth  of  mind. 
His  calls  at  the  parsonage,  —  one  of  which  he  made  on 
the  last  day  of  his  going  abroad  for  such  a  purpose, —  are 
remembered  with  interest  by  all  the  household. 

Mr.  Philbrick  had  a  wonderful  enthusiasm  and  courage 
with  respect  to  his  work,  holding  on  upon  it  in  the  face 
of  serious  and  increasing  bodily  infirmities.  His  mental 
force  was  in  these  last  years  in  no  wise  abated,  and  his 
literary  ability  was  scarcely  at  all  relaxed.  He  left  off 
his  labors  only  with  his  life. 

There  is  need  at  such  a  time  of  the  consolations  and 
hopes  of  the  Christian  faith,  since  the  end  of  every  life, 
even  the  most  successful  and  honorable,  must  be  sad,  if, 
indeed,  all  life  ended  with  the  present  time.  Mr.  Phil- 
brick  was  a  member,  from  his  youth,  of  a  Christian 


108  JOHN  D.  PU1LBRICK. 

church,  a  daily  reader  of  the  Bible,  accustomed  to  recog- 
nize the  hand  of  God  in  the  disposings  of  human  affairs 
and  the  orderings  of  nature,  and  a  man  having  the 
deepest  currents  of  his  life  devout,  and  reverent,  and 
trustful. 

ADDRESS    OF    REV.    DR.    SPAIILDING. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  have  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  Mr.  Philbrick  at  the  outset  of  his  college  course. 
He  was  a  member  of  a  large  class  of  nearly  one  hundred; 
yet  of  that  number  he  was  individualized  by  the  same 
characteristics  which  would  be  recognized  by  those  who 
knew  him  only  in  his  subsequent  profession  and  career. 
In  this  way  his  character,  and  the  life  flowing  out  of  that 
mind  and  character,  seem  a  unit.  It  is  the  same  stream, 
only  becoming  broader  and  fuller  with  the  added  work  of 
years. 

No  man  in  college  was  more  noted  than  Mr.  Philbrick 
for  indefatigable  industry.  He  was  not  a  man  of  brill- 
iant parts,  but  he  was  a  man  of  steady  aim,  of  strong 
motive  power,  of  inflexible  perseverance,  so  that  he  was 
certain  to  accomplish,  and  to  accomplish  well,  whatever 
he  might  undertake.  It  was  equally  certain  that  he 
would  never  propose  to  himself  any  common  result,  yet 
his  was  not  a  vaulting  ambition,  but  a  strong,  mature, 
solid  purpose.  It  was  thus  with  his  college  studies.  In 
the  second  year  of  his  college  course,  when  the  students 
were  called  upon  to  volunteer  to  take  up  the  study  of  the 
differential  and  integral  calculus,  Mr.  Philbrick  was  one 
of  the  first  to  go  into  it.  The  writer  said  to  him,  "  John, 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNERAL  11ITES.  109 

what  can  you  find  in  that  which  will  be  of  any  use? 
What  can  you  do  with  it  ? "  Mr.  Philbrick  replied, 
"  There  is  nothing  that  I  can  learn  in  this  world  that  I 
cannot  make  use  of  somewhere  and  somehow."  And 
this  high  standard  of  the  value  of  knowledge  he  showed 
always,  from  first  to  last. 

His  was  not  an  allegiance  to  mere  matters  of  intellect. 
He  was  a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  — a  man  of  high 
moral  principles  in  all  the  conduct  of  his  life.  He  was 
as  true  to  his  convictions  as  the  sun  in  its  course.  Mr. 
Philbrick  always  stood  for  what  he  deemed  right,  and, 
standing  there,  he  never  could  be  moved ;  he  was  a  wall 
of  strength.  To  the  younger  members  of  his  class,  who 
at  one  time  embraced  views  opposed  to  what  he  believed 
true,  he  proved  a  great  help ;  opposed  to  them  in  opin- 
ion, he  labored  so  kindly,  so  faithfully,  with  a  devotion 
so  unyielding,  that  he  led  them  to  a  deliberation  upon  the 
matter,  and  brought  them  to  a  thorough  change  of  view. 

The  same  sterling  firmness  of  character  was  seen  in 
his  connection  with  the  public  schools  of  Boston.  He 
had  early  decided  to  give  his  life  to  education.  This 
choice  of  a  profession  dated  as  far  back  as  his  sophomore 
year,  and  he  had  great  affection  and  loyalty  to  it  as  a 
profession,  feeling  that  it  demanded  and  rewarded  all  a 
man's  best  powers.  His  theories  were  never  abstract 
views,  but  matters  of  vital  interest  and  practical  impor- 
tance, and  as  such  he  grappled  them  "  with  hooks  of 
steel."  We  know  how  true  he  was  to  his  convictions  in 
educational  decisions.  He  would  rather  suffer  personal 
defeat  than  give  them  up,  and  he  did  endure  defeat 


110  JOHN  D.   PHILBBICE. 

many  times;  but  he  persisted  in  what  he  thought  right 
until  his  point  was  gained.  Even  in  circumstances  of 
great  excitement,  when  he  was  most  earnest  for  meas- 
ures, he  was  remarkably  free  from  any  bitter,  unkind,  or 
ungenerous  judgments  of  those  who  differed  from  him  in 
opinion. 

Both  teachers  and  pupils  could  rely  on  his  kindly  sym- 
pathy ;  he  loved  their  work.  No  one  could  ask  aid  of 
him  without  feeling  that  he  rejoiced  to  be  a  friend  and  a 
helper;  he  sympathized  with  the  difficulties  of  another 
by  bending  all  his  enthusiasm,  all  his  energy,  to  over- 
come them. 

Mr.  Philbrick's  wonderful  power  of  discipline  was  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  the  order,  perseverance,  and  desire 
for  progress  seen  in  his  early  school  life.  When  he  came 
to  regulate  schools  he  knew  all  about  them.  When  he 
was  sent  to  Paris  to  arrange  the  educational  department 
of  the  United  States,  it  was  evident  that  the  government 
had  put  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  He  did 
remarkable  work  as  an  organizer.  Nothing  was  over- 
looked or  neglected;  thoroughness  of  detail  stood  side 
by  side  with  the  great  principle,  "  the  greatest  good  of 
the  greatest  number."  As  a  friend  of  the  public  schools 
no  man  has  done  more  for  their  highest  and  best  inter- 
ests. No  words  of  eulogy  are  needed  for  him  whose 
work  has  been  to  mould,  to  stimulate,  and  to  elevate  the 
minds  of  the  youth  of  his  time,  and  to  place  the  results 
of  the  educational  system  of  his  country  on  a  broad  and 
permanent  basis  in  the  world's  record.  For  ourselves,  it 
is  well  that  we  should  stop  to  look  carefully  at  such  a 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNERAL  BITES.  HI 

work,  to  take  fresh  inspiration  from  so  noble  a  life  as 
that  of  John  D.  Philbrick. 

ADDRESS  OF  DANIEL  B.  HAGAB,  Ph.D. 

Nearly  forty  years  ago  I  made  my  first  visit  to  the 
Quincy  School,  in  Boston,  which  was  then  under  the 
charge  of  him  over  whose  death  we  are  now  called  to 
mourn.  I  had  learned  that  the  school  was  one  of  extraor- 
dinary excellence.  ,  I  found  it  to  be  well  worthy  of  its 
high  reputation.  Although  a  stranger  to  the  master,  he 
received  me  with  that  genuine  courtesy  which  was  one  of 
his  marked  characteristics.  From  that  day  to  the  close 
of  his  life  it  was  my  great  privilege  to  regard  him  as  my 
warm  and  faithful  friend.  Coming  to  know  him  inti- 
mately, I  found  him  in  all  respects  worthy  of  esteem  and 
confidence.  His  admirable  personal  qualities  and  his 
intellectual  ability  attracted  to  him  hosts  of  friends,  and 
commanded  the  highest  respect  of  all  who  best  knew 
him.  To  young  teachers  he  was  always  kind,  endearing 
himself  to  them  by  the  interest  he  manifested  in  their 
welfare  and  the  readiness  with  which  he  rendered  aid  in 
their  behalf. 

Mr.  Philbrick's  work  as  an  educator  was  too  broad  and 
comprehensive  to  admit  of  even  an  outline  at  the  present 
time.  His  career  was  one  of  vast  usefulness.  His  rep- 
utation as  a  leader  in  educational  affairs  is  world-wide. 
Prof.  L.  W.  Mason,  while  visiting  all  parts  of  Europe, 
investigating  methods  in  his  department  of  instruction, 
was  everywhere  greeted  with  kindly  inquiries  in  regard 
to  Dr.  Philbrick,  and  listened  to  the  warmest  expressions 


112  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

of  regard  for  him  and  his  work.  The  Japanese  Minister 
at  Washington  states  that  when  commissioners  of  Japan 
had  been  appointed  to  examine  systems  of  education, 
with  reference  to  the  adoption  of  the  best  system  for 
Japan,  they  visited  the  principal  cities  of  the  United 
States,  including  Boston  ;  they  carefully  studied  the  lead- 
ing systems  of  Europe,  and  then  returned  to  Boston, 
having  decided  that  the  Boston  system,  as  devised  and 
conducted  by  Superintendent  Philbrick,  was,  in  their 
judgment,  the  best.  On  their  return  to  Japan,  they  took 
with  them  specimens  of  the  school  furniture  and  the 
various  school  appliances  of  Boston.  To-day  there  may 
be  found  in  Tokio  a  Boston  schoolroom  in  all  its  com- 
pleteness. As  a  result  of  Mr.  Philbrick's  labors,  Bosto.n 
has  long  been  a  Mecca  for  educators  from  all  parts  of  the 
civilized  world. 

His  influence  does  not  end  with  his  life.  His  wise 
opinions  on  educational  subjects  have  been  embodied  in 
a  series  of  reports  whose  excellence  has  never  been  sur- 
passed, if  ever  equaled.  Even  after  he  had  lost  his  eye- 
sight, so  that  he  was  compelled  to  write  by  dictation,  he 
prepared  for  the  National  Bureau  of  Education  a  report 
on  the  city  schools  of  the  United  States,  whose  great 
value  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Mr.  Philbrick  held  positive  opinions  on  education, 
which  he  maintained  with  unflinching  fidelity,  —  opinions 
which  were  not  formed  hastily,  but  were  the  outcome  of 
extensive  knowledge  and  careful  deliberation. 

As  an  educator  he  may  well  serve  as  a  model  for 
young  men  who  are  ambitious  to  become  distinguished 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNERAL  BITES.  113 

in  the  field  of  labor  in  which  he  wrought  so  long  and  so 
successfully.  His  life  was  one  of  constant  usefulness. 
We  who  are  teachers  mourn  over  him  as  a  departed 
friend.  Death  has  come ;  but  to  him  "  death  is  the 
crown  of  life/' 

ADDRESS    OF  PARKIN    DUNTON,    IX.  D. 

A  great  and  good  man  has  gone  to  his  rest.  We  meet 
to-day  to  pay  our  last  sad  tribute  of  respect  to  his  mem- 
ory. To  know  him  was  to  trust  him  and  to  love  him. 

Of  all  the  men  of  the  present  generation  who  have 
devoted  their  lives  to  the  cause  of  popular  education, 
John  D,  Philbrick  was  the  foremost.  I  think  it  not  too 
much  to  say  that  among  the  educational  men  of  all  the 
civilized  nations  of  the  world  there  is  not  a  living  man 
to-day  whose  name  is  so  widely  and  so  favorably  known. 
Not  to  know  him  is  to  be  ignorant  of  the  history  of  public 
education. 

His  profound  and  minute  knowledge  of  the  origin  and 
development  of  the  public  school  system  of  Boston  is  well 
known  to  many  of  those  present ;  but  his  acquaintance 
with  the  school  systems  of  other  important  cities  in  this 
country,  and,  indeed,  with  the  school  systems  of  all  civil- 
ized nations,  was  just  as  profound  and  little  less  minute. 
I  have  often  heard  him  say  that  the  best  data  for  deter- 
mining the  value  of  educational  theories  and  methods 
were  the  tendencies  of  educational  practice  among  civil- 
ized nations,  and  judged  by  this  standard  no  man  was 
more  competent. 

I  remember  well  his  first  official  visit  to  my  school.     I 


114  JOHN  D.  PHILBBICK. 

was  then  a  subordinate  teacher  in  a  grammar  school  of 
Boston,  where  he  was  superintendent.  After  listening 
for  half  an  hour  to  the  school  exercises,  he  drew  me  into 
general  conversation  upon  schools,  and  in  a  few  moments 
I  believed  myself  in  the  presence  of  the  wisest  school 
man  that  I  had  ever  known.  This  belief  has  been  gain- 
ing strength  for  the  last  eighteen  years.  It  was  my  priv- 
ilege to  spend  a  day  with  him  about  a  month  ago  in  this 
very  room.  He  was  then  in  pretty  good  health  and  in 
excellent  spirits.  I  never  left  him  with  so  profound  a 
sense  of  his  great  educational  wisdom  as  on  that  evening. 

Another  of  his  characteristics  was  his  patience.  I 
have  never  known  a  man  who  better  understood  the 
value  of  waiting.  He  was  wonderfully  tolerant  of  opin- 
ions at  variance  with  his  own,  and  was  quite  willing  to 
wait  till  knowledge  and  reason  had  produced  conviction. 

His  mantle  of  charity  was  so  broad  that  it  covered 
friends  and  foes  alike.  For  those  who  differed  from  him 
on  matters  of  educational  policy,  and  even  for  those  who 
had  caused  him  infinite  labor  and  trouble,  he  was  ever 
willing  to  accord  the  best  of  motives.  He  was  preemi- 
nently a  man  of  sweetness  of  temper. 

Add  to  this  a  serene  and  cheerful  mind,  a  broad,  cor- 
rect judgment,  and  a  keen  insight  into  the  tendencies  of 
educational  movements,  and  you  have  the  elements  of 
character  that  made  him  so  universally  respected,  trusted, 
and  loved  by  the  old  Boston  masters  with  whom  he 
worked  for  so  many  years. 

To  his  stricken  widow  and  other  mourning  relatives, 
permit  me  to  say,  that  it  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few  mor- 


LAST  DAYS  AND  FUNERAL  BITES.  115 

tals  to  be  so  widely  known,  so  highly  respected,  and  so 
deeply  loved. 

At  the  close  of  these  addresses,  Mr.  Rice  read  the  fol- 
lowing letters : 

LETTER    FROM    JOHN    G.    WHITTIER. 

OAK  RIDGE,  2d  Mo.,  4,  1886. 

Dear  Mrs.  Philbrick : — It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  be 
present  at  the  last  services  to  thy  honored  husband  and 
my  very  highly  esteemed  friend  and  neighbor.  I  had 
hoped,  not  without  reason,  that  he  would  outlive  me,  and 
that  we  should  after  have  the  pleasure  of  meeting  each 
other  in  the  future.  He  leaves  a  noble  record,  and  his 
memory  will  long  be  cherished  as  a  wise  and  successful 
friend  of  learning,  and  as  a  worthy  and  upright  citizen. 
With  sincere  sympathy,  I  am  thy  friend, 

JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

LETTER    FROM    GEN.    JOHN    EATON. 

MARIETTA,  O.,  Feb.  3,  1886. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Philbrick :  —  Deeply  regretting  the  impossi- 
bility of  my  attending  Dr.  Philbrick's  funeral,  I  am  one 
of  that  great  number  who  mourn  his  death  as  his  per- 
sonaj  loss,  and  whose  tenderest  sympathies  are  with  you. 
An  able,  scholarly,  noble  man,  dear  friend,  great  educa- 
tor, full  of  knowledge,  wise  to  plan  and  faithful  to  exe- 
cute, his  death  is  a  calamity  to  sound  learning  the  world 
over.  JOHN  EATON. 

The  hymn  of  Addison,  "  The  Spacious  Firmament  on 
High,"  which  Mr.  Philbrick  learned  when  a  boy,  and 
which  was  always  a  favorite  with  him,  and  which  he 
repeated  during  his  last  sickness,  was  read,  and  the  exer- 


116  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

cises  closed  with  prayer  and  the  benediction.  The 
remains  were  then  placed  in  the  receiving  tomb  to  await 
final  burial  in  the  spring. 

THE   FIJTAL  INTERMENT. 

The  remains  were  removed  from  Danvers,  Mass.,  the 
final  interment  taking  place  at  Deerfield,  N.  H.,  May  3, 
1886.  It  was  the  wish  of  his  neighbors  and  townsmen 
that,  on  this  occasion,  there  should  be  some  simple  public 
services  by  which  they  could  testify  their  love  and  re- 
spect to  their  honored  friend.  This  was  arranged  for, 
and  on  a  beautiful  spring  day,  amid  a  crowded  gathering 
of  his  early  friends  at  his  old  homestead,  his  body  was 
borne  to  its  last  rest  by  the  arms  of  those  who  had  been 
his  pupils  nearly  fifty  years  before.  Rev.  Mr.  Walker 
offered  prayer  at  the  house,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Kingsbury 
invoked  a  blessing  at  the  grave.  The  following  readings 
and  address  were  given  by  his  friend,  Oilman  H.  Tucker. 

HEADINGS. 

'  "  They  that  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord  are  as  Mount 
Zion,  that  cannot  be  moved,  but  abideth  forever." 

"  Man  that  is  born  of  woman  is  of  few  days  and  full  of 
trouble.  He  cometh  forth  like  a  flower  and  is  cut  down ; 
he  fleeth  also  as  a  shadow  and  continueth  not/' 

"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God, 
believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions :  if  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go 
to  prepare  a  place  for  you,  and  if  I  go  and  prepare  a 
place  for  you  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto 
myself,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also." 


LAST  DATS  AND  FUNEEAL  RITES.  117 

"Eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard,  nor  the  heart  of 
man  conceived  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for 
them  that  love  him." 

"And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  Heaven  saying, 
behold  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  man  ;  and  he  will 
dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God 
himself  shall  be  with  them  and  be  their  God." 

"  I  heard  a  voice  from  Heaven  saying  unto  me,  Write, 
from  henceforth  blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the 
Lord,  even  so  saith  the  spirit ;  for  they  rest  from  their 

labors  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

• 

HYMNS. 

Rest  for  the  toiling  hand, 
Rest  for  the  anxious  brow, 
Rest  for  the  weary,  way-sore  feet, 
Rest  from  all  labor  now. 

It  is  not  death  to  bear 
The  stroke  that  sets  us  free 
From  earthly  chain,  to  breathe  the  air 
Of  boundles^  liberty. 

It  is  not  death  to  fling 
Aside  this  mortal  dust, 
And  rise  on  strong,  exulting  wing 
To  live  among  the  just. 


We  will  not  weep,  for  God  is  standing  by  us, 
And  tears  will  blind  us  to  the  blessed  sight ; 

We  will  not  doubt ;  if  darkness  still  doth  try  us, 
Our  souls  have  promise  of  serenest  light. 

We  will  not  faint ;  if  heavy  burdens  bind  us 
They  press  no  harder  than  our  souls  can  bear : 


118  JOHN   D.   PHILBRICK. 

The  thorniest  way  is  lying  still  behind  us  ; 
We  shall  be  braver  for  the  past  despair. 

Oh,  not  in  doubt  shall  be  our  journey's  ending, 
Sin,  with  its  fears,  shall  leave  us  at  the  last ; 

All  its  best  hopes  in  glad  fulfillment  blending,. 
Life  shall  be  with  us  when  the  Death  is  past. 

Help  us,  O  Father,  when  the  world  is  pressing 
On  our  frail  hearts  that  faint  without  their  friend  ! 

Help  us,  O  Father !  let  thy  constant  blessing 
Strengthen  our  weakness  till  the  joyful  end. 

ADDRESS. 

Here  we  have  met  to  perform  this  last  sad  act  of  love ; 
here  in  the  fragrant  breath  of  spring,  amid  freshening 
green,  the  opening  of  flowers,  and  the  song  of  birds,  on 
this  pleasant  slope  opening  to  the  sun,  in  this  sacred 
earth  in  which  his  fathers  sleep  ;  from  this  outlook  so 
full  of  that  beauty  of  scene,  upon  which  his  eyes  so  many 
times  lingered,  and  where  they  dwelt  with  such  fondness 
and  delight,  —  here  we  have  come  with  tearful  hearts  and 
loving  hands  to  commit  the  dear  form  of  our  relative  and 
friend  to  its  final  rest. 

After  a  full  life,  long,  and  yet  so  short,  filled  with 
activity  in  the  noblest  of  pursuits,  the  educating  and  up- 
lifting of  mankind,  world-wide  reaching  in  its  influence, 
crowned  with  success  and  honor,  he  has  come  to  lie 
down  in  his  final  sleep  upon  this  spot  of  earth,  where  his 
eyes  first  opened  upon  the  strangeness  of  the  world,  and 
where  again  he  was  born  into  lofty  aspirations  and 
ambitions. 

Rest  and  sleep,  —  sleep  and  rest ;   these  are  the  touch- 


LAST  DATS  AND  FUNERAL  RITES.  119 

ing  symbols ;  these,  the  sweetest  of  words  known  to 
toiling  and  suffering  humankind,  are  what  we  use  to 
describe  this  last  stage  in  our  mortal  journey,  —  this 
which  is  not  death,  but  transition. 

If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again  ?  Revelation  answers, 
"  Christ  the  divine  has  arisen/'  Eighteen  Christian 
centuries  have  answered,  and  the  great  and  good  of  all 
ages  have  answered.  The  human  heart  and  human  rea- 
son answer.  Science  answers  that  no  particle  of  the 
universe  can  be  destroyed.  Can,  then,  the  spirit  which 
makes  the  human  soul  ? 

How  great,  then,  is  life !  change,  transition,  death,  but 
through  all,  and  in  all,  an  ever-continuing  life.  In  our 
memory  and  affections  how  strong  and  real  is  the  life  of 
our  friend  to-day !  How  vivid  he  is  in  influence  and 
power,  —  in  that  wide  world  wherein  he  moved  and 
wrought.  Can  the  influence  of  his  good  words  and 
works  ever  have  an  end  ?  Not  until  you  shall  turn  back 
time,  and  blot  out  the  span  of  his  mortal  existence. 

And  I  see  him  now,  as  I  saw  him  so  lately,  in  yonder 
cemetery,  planning  and  working  to  beautify  and  protect 
it ;  as  I  saw  him  here,  at  his  house,  filled  with  a  certain 
homeish  gladness  to  be  among  these  scenes,  with  old 
neighbors  and  townsmen,  —  simple,  honest,  working  peo- 
ple that  he  loved.  I  see  him  with  his  noble,  illumined 
face,  his  frank  and  winning  manner,  his  hearty  clasp  of 
the  hand,  his  serious  words  lighted  up  with  flashes  of 
pleasantry,  —  the  warm  welcome  of  his  whole  soul !  I 
see  in  all  his  generous  and  sympathetic  spirit,  thoughtful 
of  all  but  himself,  constantly  planning  some  individual  or 


120  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

public  benefit,  like  the  free  public  library  which  he  estab- 
lished here  in  his  native  town.  And  in  these  last  years 
I  have  seen  him  clothed  in  that  gentle  mist  of  divine 
patience,  visible,  through  his  natural  buoyancy  of  spirits, 
only  to  loving  eyes,  with  which  he  met  his  increasing 
loss  of  sight. 

So  will  that  life  he  lived  always  exist  in  one  form  or 
another  upon  the  earth.  Thus  living  here,  how  much 
more  shall  there  always  be  life  for  him  in  some  happy 
sphere  above  and  beyond.  It  is  these  great  and  good 
souls  that  quiet  our  doubting  minds,  that  prove  to  us  this 
truth  of  immortal  life.  To  be  forever  with  him  we  need 
only  to  be  like  him.  Always,  now  and  forever,  we  are 
with,  one  with,  in  heart,  mind,  and  soul,  those  whom  we 
are  alike ;  no  height,  nor  depth,  nor  distance,  nor  time, 
can  ever  separate  such  as  these. 

Now,  as  companions  and  travelers,  we  part  for  a  little 
with  our  friend,  who  has  finished  one  stage  of  the  jour- 
ney and  taken  on  another.  Sweet,  generous,  gentle 
spirit,  hail,  but  not  farewell !  rather  let  us  whisper  our 
loving  "  good-night "  till  we  all  meet  at  the  dawn  of  the 
great  morning. 

I  wage  not  any  feud  with  Death, 

For  changes  wrought  on  form  and  face  ; 
No  lower  life  that  earth's  embrace 

May  breed  with  him  can  fright  my  faith. 

Eternal  process  moving  on, 

From  state  to  state  the  spirit  walks ; 
And  these  are  but  the  shatter'd  stalks, 

Or  ruin'd  chrysalis  of  one. 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS. 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS, 


About  two  weeks  after  Dr.  Philbrick' s  funeral,  the 
New  England  Joiirnal  of  Education  published  a  memorial 
number,  consisting  of  eulogistic  letters  from  all  parts  of 
the  country.  These  letters,  perhaps,  indicate  as  clearly 
as  anything  can  the  estimate  in  which  Dr.  Philbrick  was 
held  by  the  educators  of  America,  and  the  warm  place  he 
rilled  in  their  hearts.  Below  are  given  many  of  these 
letters.  Explanatory  of  the  purpose  of  publishing  these 
letters,  there  appeared  in  the  memorial  number  of  the 
Journal,  under  date  of  Feb.  18,  1886,  the  following 

EDITORIAL. 

It  was  our  purpose  to  give  a  liberal  share  of  the  JOUR- 
NAL this  week  to  tributes  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Phil- 
brick  ;  but,  so  generous  and  prompt  have  been  the 
responses,  and  so  valuable  are  the  reminiscences,  reviews, 
and  estimates  of  his  life,  that  we  most  cheerfully  sur- 
render our  editorial,  as  well  as  other  pages,  to  the  words  of 
high  esteem  and  noble  affection  which  flow  from  so  many 
pens.  It  is  most  worthy  of  record  that  these  contribu- 
tions are  not  fulsome  eulogies,  nor  unbecoming  praises 
of  Mr.  Philbrick.  All  bear,  in  their  deepest  meaning, 
honest  and  heartfelt  testimonies  to  some  trait,  quality,  or 
service,  which  are  established  by  the  mouths  of  many 

(123) 


124  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

ready  witnesses.  We  had  intended  to  add  our  own 
humbler  word  to  these,  but  must  withhold  it  for  another 
opportunity,  preferring  that  the  brethren,  who  speak  so 
truly  and  eloquently,  should  express  their  sentiments  of 
appreciative  affection.  Their  contributions  to  his  worth 
form  a  monument  as  enduring  as  can  be  built,  having  for 
its  foundation,  a  noble,  devoted,  generous,  Christian  man- 
hood. We  shall  be  greatly  surprised,  if  our  readers  in 
all  parts  of  our  country  do  not  welcome  these  tokens  of 
regard,  which  are  not  only  personal  to  Mr.  Philbrick  as  a 
man  and  an  educator,  but  are  of  greater  moment  to  the 
whole  body  of  teachers,  as  the  recognition  of  a  profes- 
sional spirit  and  devotion,  which  are  the  best  evidence 
that  his  life  had  a  purpose,  and  that  it  was  crowned  with 
most  gratifying  success.  With  Mann  and  Agassiz  and 
Page  and  Philbrick  among  our  worthies,  we  certainly 
have  some  reason  to  be  proud  of  our  calling,  and  of  all 
who  bear  the  name  of  Teacher. 

LETTER    OF    E.    E.    WHITE,    UL.D. 

The  death  of  the  noble  Philbrick  has  touched  me  more 
deeply  than  that  of  any  other  New  England  educator 
since  the  death  of  Horace  Mann,  and  Mr.  Mann,  as  you 
know,  spent  his  last  years  in  Ohio  as  president  of  An- 
tioch  College,  thus  adding  to  my  high  esteem  for  him  the 
felicity  of  a  personal  acquaintance. 

I  first  met  Dr.  Philbrick  in  the  superintendent's  office 
in  Boston,  the  city  so  long  and  so  highly  honored  by  his 
professional  labors,  and  the  acquaintance  there  formed 
grew  with  passing  years  into  an  intimate  friendship ; 


EULOGISTIC   LETTERS.  125 

and,  though  the  distance  between  our  homes  denied  me 
the  close  personal  fellowship  enjoyed  by  his  New  England 
associates,  I  am  sure  that  few  of  them  think  of  his  death 
with  a  deeper  sense  of  personal  bereavement.  I  have  not 
only  admired  Dr.  Philbrick  for  many  years,  but  I  have  in- 
creasingly esteemed  his  wisdom,  and  leaned  upon  him 
for  counsel  and  guidance.  Few  American  educators  have 
spoken  or  written  fewer  unripe  views  on  education  than 
he.  He  was  blessed  with  that  poise  and  catholicity  of 
mind  that  enabled  him  to  look  on  all  sides  of  a  complex 
truth,  and  especially  a  truth  to  be  embodied  in  methods 
of  teaching.  If  he  were  less  enthusiastic  than  some  oth- 
ers, it  was  because  he  saw  more  clearly  their  limitations. 
His  apparent  conservatism  was  the  poise  of  deep  in- 
sight and  wide  knowledge.  He  held  firmly  to  the  good 
that  had  been  tested,  while  he  sought  for  and  welcomed 
better  things. 

His  reports  as  superintendent  of  the  Boston  schools, 
so  admirable  in  contents,  spirit,  and  diction,  and  his 
more  recent  papers  on  current  school  questions,  will  be 
consulted  a  few  years  hence  as  the  wisest  contributions 
of  these  days.  His  comprehensive  papers  on  "City 
School  Systems,"  published  in  1885  by  the  Bureau  of 
Education,  and  on  "  School  Reports,"  submitted  to  the 
Council  last  summer,  embody  wise  experience,  patient 
research,  and  profound  wisdom.  But  I  must  leave  a  fit- 
ting recognition  of  Dr.  Philbrick's  great  services  in  the 
cause  of  education  to  others.  My  heart  calls  me  back  to 
a  simpler  tribute  of  obligation  and  love. 

When   I   assumed   the   principalship   of    a   Cleveland 


126  JOHN  D.  PHILBRICK. 

school  many  years  ago,  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  take  a 
"peep"  into  a  Boston  school,  through  the  keen  eyes  of 
the  lamented  Cyrus  Knowlton  of  Cincinnati.  The  school 
thus  seen  became  an  inspiring  ideal,  and  greatly  contrib- 
uted to  my  success  as  a  teacher.  Years  afterward  I 
learned  it  was  Mr.  Philbrick's  school  that  had  been  so 
vividly  pictured  to  me,  and  so  for  a  third  of  a  century  I 
have  been  his  debtor.  There  now  lies  before  me  a  pre- 
cious letter  from  his  stricken  home,  informing  me  that 
Dr.  Philbrick  wrote  his  name  the  last  time  to  attest  his 
friendship  for  me,  and  that  my  name  was  among  the 
last  words  which  he  uttered.  Thus  the  debt  of  long 
ago  and  this  last  touching  honor  span  all  the  years  be- 
tween with  inspiration  and  benediction ! 

A  prince  among  American  educators  has  fallen ! 
Peace  to  his  ashes,  and  consolation  and  blessings  to  the 
afflicted  widow  ! 

BETTER    OF    WM.    T.    HARRIS,    IX.  D. 

I  feel  keenly  the  grief  that  comes  to  teachers  and 
friends  of  education,  at  the  announcement  of  Dr.  Phil- 
brick's  death.  There  is  an  inner  circle  of  personal 
friends  who  knew  him  and  loved  him  and  honored  him, 
for  both  personal  and  professional  reasons.  There  is  an 
outer  circle  who  knew  him  and  respected  him  as  a  veteran 
authority  in  matters  pertaining  to  education,  and  this 
circle  includes  the  entire  profession  devoted  to  teaching 
and  the  management  of  schools,  in  every  civilized  coun- 
try in  the  world.  I  would  fain  lay  claim  to  belong  to  the 
inner  circle,  although  I  have  never  been  officially  con- 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  127 

nected  with  him.  I  knew  him  many  years  as  a  laborer  in 
the  same  field  of  work.  Indeed,  my  first  acquaintance 
with  him  dated  back  to  1852,  when  I  met  him  at  an 
educational  institute.  I  watched  with  eager  interest  his 
career  as  superintendent  of  the  State  system  of  Con- 
necticut and  subsequently  of  the  schools  of  Boston. 

His  annual  reports  were  luminous  with  insight  into  the 
relations  of  practical  methods  to  the  history  of  pedagogy. 
He  was  a  city  set  upon  a  hill.  He  never  wrote  a  para- 
graph without  considering  the  relation  of  its  doctrine  to 
the  theory  and  practice  of  the  world.  The  effect  of  his 
writings,  therefore,  was  a  broadening  one.  Teachers 
learned  from  him  to  look  at  their  work  from  an  elevation, 
and  to  take  in  its  perspective. 

I  have  often  noted  his  generosity  toward  his  contem- 
poraries. He  seemed  to  take  especial  pleasure  in  cred- 
iting others  with  any  good  points  that  he  could  detect  in 
their  methods  or  theories.  In  this  respect  his  influence 
was  specially  inspiring  to  young  men  ambitious  to  ekcel 
in  their  profession.  I  should  lay  great  emphasis  on  this 
grand  feature  of  his  character  as  it  appeared  from  a  dis- 
tance. I  have  no  doubt  that  the  memories  of  those  who 
worked  near  him  can  supply  innumerable  examples  of  the 
manifestation  of  this  noble  trait. 

There  comes  into  my  mind,  as  eminently  fitting  on  the 
occasion  of  the  death  of  a  great  teacher,  the  words  from 
the  prophet  Daniel,  quoted  in  the  epitaph  of  Fichte  on 
his  tomb  in  Berlin  :  "  The  teachers  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  „<» 
righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever/' 


128  JOHN  D.   PIIILBBICK. 

LETTER    OF    JOHN    G.    WHITTIER. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  that  the  Journal  of  Education  will 
issue  a  memorial  number  devoted  to  my  honored  friend, 
Dr.  Philbrick,  of  this  town.  I  had  known  of  his  educa- 
tional work  for  many  years,  but  had  never  the  pleasure 
of  his  personal  acquaintance  until  he  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  my  neighborhood.  I  found  him  a  busy  student, 
deeply  interested  in  the  cause  to  which  his  life  had  been 
devoted,  but  at  the  same  time  a  genial,  unpretending  gen- 
tleman, and  a  very  pleasant  addition  to  our  social  circle. 

The  last  time  I  saw  him,  some  two  months  ago,  he  was 
suffering  from  partial  blindness,  but  seemed  in  his  usual 
good  spirits.  He  was  specially  interested  in  the  educa- 
tional progress  of  Europe,  and  in  the  female  colleges 
established  recently  in  France.  He  warmly  commended 
Wellesley  College  and  its  young  and  able  president,  and 
expressed  great  satisfaction  at  the  auspicious  opening  of 
the  Bryn  Mawr  College,  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  deeply 
impressed  with  the  imperative  necessity  of  the  education 
of  all  the  people  of  the  United  States,  irrespective  of 
color  or  nationality,  as  the  only  sure  safeguard  of  liberty 
and  progress,  regarding  the  ballot  in  the  hands  of  igno- 
rance a  cause  for  serious  apprehension  of  national  dan- 
gers. A  good  and  true  man,  who  served  his  generation 
faithfully  and  successfully,  he  deserves  to  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance. 

LETTER    OF    GEN.    JOHN    EATON,    IX.D. 

Your  plan  is  most  fit.  But  it  would  be  easier  to  write 
a  volume  than  "  a  word  "  exactly  descriptive  of  Dr.  Phil- 
brick,  or  of  my  memories  of  him. 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  129 

I  first  heard  of  him  when  I  was  fitting  for  college 
under  Dr.  Orcutt,  his  classmate,  In  my  earliest  knowl- 
edge of  educators  I  read  of  Mr.  Philbrick  as  a  "  Boston 
teacher,"  then  as  in  Connecticut ;  and  soon,  again,  as  in 
Boston,  and  at  the  head  of  the  city  schools. 

In  returning  East  from  my  year's  work  in  Ohio,  I  was 
accustomed  to  see  for  myself  all  I  could  of  schools  and 
leading  teachers  and  educators.  On  my  first  return 
through  Boston  I  learned  much,  through  Nathan  Bishop, 
of  his  first  experience  as  superintendent  in  Providence 
and  Boston.  On  my  next  visit  I  met  Mr.  Philbrick,  and 
his  strong  characteristics  impressed  me  deeply.  In  my 
mind  were  definite  questions,  some  theoretical,  others 
practical.  In  his  answers  there  was  no  assumption  of 
superiority,  no  brag,  no  ex  cathedra  announcements.  He 
was  a  master,  —  strong,  on  the  alert,  but  judicial,  and 
employing  the  scientific  methods  for  working  out  the 
great  problems  before  him.  He  quoted  what  had  been 
tried  here  and  there,  and  failed  or  succeeded,  and  stated 
what  he  was  trying,  giving  me  most  valuable  facts  and 
suggestions  specially  available  for  my  study  and  practice. 
His  mind  had  before  it  most  abundant  information  and 
theories,  but  I  specially  felt  his  power  to  hold  all  in  abey- 
ance until  their  adoption  in  administration  was  clearly 
expedient. 

I  have  been  a  debtor  to  Dr.  Philbrick  in  education  from 
the  first.  How  many  teachers  obtained  their  first  hints 
from  him  !  From  this  experience  of  mine  I  readily  saw 
later,  when  I  referred  foreign  educators  to  him,  how  they 
were  sure  to  report  the  great  benefit  they  gained  from  a 
yisit  to  him, 


130  JOHN  D.  PHILBBICK. 

He  did  not  put  affairs  out  of  joint.  He  administered 
city  schools,  but  he  studied  profoundly  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  education,  and  saw  how  part  fitted  part  and 
threw  light  upon  the  whole.  Again  and  again  I  met  for- 
eign educators,  after  Dr.  Philbrick's  visit  to  Vienna,  who 
could  hardly  find  language  strong  enough  to  express  their 
high  opinion  of  him.  Among  them  a  most  eminent  in- 
spector of  normal  schools  in  Belgium,  who  had  taken  the 
great  step  to  call  to  his  aid  a  lady  as  an  assistant  in- 
spector, declared  himself  fully  confirmed  in  his  view  by 
Dr.  Philbrick's  approval,  and  that  he  prized  what  he 
learned  from  Dr.  Philbrick  about  education  more  than  all 
else  that  he  gained  at  Vienna. 

Dr.  Philbrick's  representation  of  education  at  Paris,  in 
1878,  was  of  the  greatest  possible  service.  He  could  do 
justice  to  any  part  of  it.  He  won  for  us  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  all  inquirers,  however  humble  or  renowned. 
He  and  his  exhibit,  though  small,  were  sought  by  the 
most  eminent  students  of  education.  His  great  ability 
and  attainments,  his  industry  and  devotion,  his  skill  and 
aptness  to  teach,  all  served  him  well,  and  none  who  came 
went  away  unenlightened.  He  became  a  favorite  Amer- 
ican guest  at  distinguished  gatherings.  The  honors  con- 
ferred by  the  French  and  the  "  Doctor  of  Laws/'  by  the 
Scotch  University,  and  the  remembrances  which  flowed 
in  till  the  day  of  his  death,  were  most  deserved. 

The  French  Commissioner  to  the  New  Orleans  Exhi- 
bition made  a  special  pilgrimage  to  Asylum  Station,  and 
could  not  restrain  his  lamentations  when  he  learned  that 
the  Doctor  was  in  New  Hampshire,  whither  he  could  not 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  131 

go  before  the  sailing  of  the  vessel  on  which  he  had 
engaged  passage. 

The  great  benefits  derived  from  him  and  his  work 
by  the  Japanese  are  well  known,  and  have  been  often 
acknowledged.  Bishop  Frazer,  until  his  death,  was  the 
Doctor's  admiring  correspondent.  Dr.  Philbrick's  mar- 
velous power  of  seeing  a  situation  in  education,  and 
meeting  it,  enabled  him  to  give  most  timely  counsel  to 
those  dealing  with  difficulties,  old  or  new.  How  many 
state  and  city  systems  has  he  helped !  He  was  quick  to 
discover  and  recognize  good  work  wherever  done. 

He  set  a  high  value  upon  associations  for  the  promo- 
tion of  education,  as  will  be  recognized  by  his  frequent 
sacrifices  to  attend  meetings  and  take  part  in  them.  His 
inspiring  a  great  body  of  Eastern  teachers  to  attend  the 
National  Association  at  Chicago  will  not  be  forgotten, 
and  illustrates  his  ideas  and  activity.  What  an  impulse 
they  left  behind  them,  and  how  much  they  learned  and 
enjoyed  ! 

He  specially  aided  in  educational  journalism  as  editor, 
writer,  and  adviser.  Who  that  saw  him  at  Saratoga, 
nearly  blind,  and  led  about  by  his  devoted  wife,  can 
forget  him,  or  his  masterly  paper,  or  his  wise  and  delight- 
ful conversation  !  Even  after  his  retirement  to  his  coun- 
try home,  no  great  movement  in  education  escaped  him, 
whether  affecting  the  entire  country,  or  a  state,  or  city, 
or  institution,  and  he  had  the  courage  of  his  convictions ; 
he  stood  by  his  colors.  His  works  will  remain  to  honor 
him  and  instruct  coming  generations.  What  a  set  of 
city  reports  is  that  which  he  made  of  the  Boston  schools ! 


132  JOHN  D.   PHIL  BRICK. 

Every  one  is  a  study.  When  has  there  appeared  so 
much  wisdom  in  a  single  pedagogical  paper  as  in  the  cir- 
cular prepared  by  him  for  the  Bureau  of  Education,  and 
published  by  it ! 

His  life  covered  a  most  marked  period  in  the  progress 
of  education,  in  which  he  was  a  most  effective  actor,  and 
in  which  his  name  will  ever  be  associated.  He  gathered 
the  richest  fruit  for  his  chosen  profession  to  the  last. 
Teachers  everywhere  may  well  honor  him  and  emulate 
his  virtues. 

LETTER    OF    JOHN    S.    CLARK. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing  Dr.  Philbrick  very  well 
for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  and  of  one  feature  of 
his  work  I  may,  perhaps,  be  permitted  to  speak  with 
exceptional  knowledge.  Among  the  prominent  educa- 
tors of  the  country  he  was  the  first  to  perceive  the  value 
of  art  education  in  general  education,  as  well  as  the  first 
to  take  active  steps  toward  its  promotion.  I  think  it  is 
generally  conceded  that  the  movement  for  the  study  of 
drawing  in  public  schools,  which,  within  the  last  fifteen 
years,  has  extended  over  the  whole  country,  had  its  begin- 
ning in  Boston  in  1870.  How  important  a  movement 
this  has  been,  and  what  a  development  it  has  given  to 
education  in  many  directions,  is  well  known  to  all  observ- 
ers of  public  schools  for  the  last  ten  years.  I  do  not 
think  I  do  injustice  to  the  many  gentlemen  who  took  a 
deep  interest  in  starting  the  movement  in  Massachusetts, 
when  I  say  that  the  leading  spirit  in  the  movement  was 
Dr.  Philbrick.  He  was  at  that  time  superintendent  of 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  133 

the  public  schools  of  Boston,  and  a  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Education.  My  intimate  acquaintance  with 
him  began  about  this  time,  and,  above  all  others,  he 
seemed  to  have  clear  ideas  in  regard  to  how  the  work 
should  be  begun  in  the  schools,  and  how  it  should  be 
developed.  In  my  various  consultations  with  him  he 
surprised  me,  not  only  by  the  thoroughness  of  his  obser- 
vation in  regard  to  what  had  been  done  abroad,  but  also 
by  his  clear  comprehension  of  what  was  necessary  to  be 
done  here  before  any  success  could  be  expected. 

While  his  official  reports  at  this  time  bear  evidence  of 
his  earnest  conviction  in  regard  to  the  importance  of 
drawing  and  art  education  generally,  they  give  little  indi- 
cation of  the  very  earnest  personal  efforts  he  was  making 
in  every  direction  to  promote  the  undertaking,  both  in 
the  city  and  in  the  state.  '  To  Dr.  Philbrick  more  than 
to  any  other  one  person  are  we  indebted  for  our  Massa- 
chusetts Normal  Art  School.  The  necessity  for  such  an 
institution  became  apparent  to  him  at  the  outset  of  the 
movement,  and  his  experience  as  an  educator  enabled 
him  to  see,  with  perhaps  greater  clearness  than  others, 
its  necessity  in  order  to  carry  on  the  work  throughout 
the  state.  It  was  through  his  instrumentality,  mainly, 
that  Mr.  Walter  Smith  was  induced  to  come  to  Boston 
in  1872,  and  in  the  early  years  of  Mr.  Smith's  labors  he 
had  Dr.  Philbrick's  earnest  support. 

The  art  movement  in  education,  which  he  did  so  much 
to  inaugurate,  engaged  his  deepest  attention  to  the  last. 
The  closing  years  of  his  official  life  in  Boston  showed  in- 
creased interest  in  the  subject ;  and  since  his  retirement 


134  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

at  Danvers  he  has  evinced  the  liveliest  interest  in  the 
spread  of  drawing  throughout  the  country,  and  I  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  consulting  him  frequently  in  regard 
to  various  educational  points  that  have  arisen  in  my  own 
work.  I  always  found  him  full  to  repletion  of  wise  coun- 
sel ;  and  I  never  left  him  without  feeling  myself  his 
debtor  to  an  extent  that  could  not  be  paid.  His  presence 
at  the  National  Association  at  Saratoga  was  especially 
memorable  by  reason  of  his  visit  to  the  Art  Exhibition. 
In  the  excellent  work  there  exhibited  from  the  schools  of 
Worcester,  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  Quincy,  he  took  the 
greatest  delight.  He  was  able  to  see  the  development 
that  had  taken  place  within  the  last  few  years  in  the 
study  of  form  and  drawing,  and,  as  he  expressed  himself, 
"  It  was  the  realization  of  what  he  could  only  hope  for 
fifteen  years  ago."  As  I  knew  the  deep  interest  he  took 
in  this  particular  line  of  educational  work,  I  was  greatly 
pleased  that  his  partially  dimmed  eyes  were  gladdened 
by  a  sight  so  full  of  promise  to  the  future  of  public  edu- 
cation before  they  were  closed  forever. 

There  are  so  many  who  will  pay  fitting  tribute  to*Dr. 
Philbrick's  eminent  public  services  that  I  have  felt  like 
speaking  only  on  that  feature  in  his  work  with  which  I  was 
intimately  acquainted.  He  was  a  leader  and  a  pioneer  in 
the  art  movement  in  education  which  is  now  going  so 
successfully  over  the  country  ;  and  in  all  stages  of  its 
progress  his  labor  and  his  counsel  have  been  invaluable. 

Fully  cognizant  of  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  this  feature 
in  education,  and  his  faith  in  its  future  development,  it 
gives  me  great  pleasure  to  add  this  tribute  to  his  memory. 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  135 

LETTER    OF    OILMAN    H.    TUCKER. 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1853,  I  went  as  a  boy  from  my 
country  home  in  New  Hampshire  to  New  Britain,  Conn., 
to  be  under  the  immediate  instruction  and  direction  of 
Mr.  John  D.  Philbrick,  who,  as  assistant  superintendent 
of  common  schools  for  the  state  of  Connecticut,  had 
assumed  the  charge  of  the  State  Normal  and  Training 
Schools  located  in  that  place.  My  uncle,  who  responded 
to  my  desire  to  "go  away  to  school"  by  sending  me 
there,  had  a  very  high  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  teach- 
ing and  influence  of  Mr.  Philbrick,  and,  I  remember, 
quoted  some  Plutarch  saying,  that  it  was  regarded  as  the 
greatest  good  fortune  that  a  youth  was  born  at  a  time 
when  he  could  have  the  teaching  of  Socrates.  He  rightly 
judged  that  nothing  was  so  important  to  one  in  obtaining 
an  education  as  to  come  under  the  influence  of  a  gifted 
teacher  and  a  great  and  good  man. 

From  this  time  commenced  a  personal  intimacy  which, 
growing  into  a  close  friendship,  lasted  to  the  end  of  Mr. 
Philbrick's  life.  Later,  after  completing  school  and  col- 
lege, as  a  young  man  "  beginning  the  world,"  I  was  for 
several  years  a  member  of  his  household  in  Boston,  and 
since  have  always  been  a  frequent  and  welcome  visitor  in 
his  home.  In  these  thirty-three  years  what  have  I  not 
owed  to  him  as  teacher  and  friend ! 

As  a  teacher  Mr.  Philbrick  placed  before  himself  the 
highest  ideal.  No  man  could  ever  be  more  in  love  with, 
or  more  completely  devoted  to,  his  profession.  He  read 
and  studied  its  greatest  authors,  and  associated  with  its 


136  JOHN   D.   PHILBRICK. 

best  exponents,  And  his  mind  was  so  receptive  and  so 
practical  that  he  assimilated  all,  so  that  the  fruit  of  his 
knowledge  always  appeared  in  his  daily  work.  His  plans 
were  always  broad,  and  his  system  founded  on  sound 
principles.  Teaching  was  to  him  a  great  thing,  —  a  phi- 
losophy ;  not  a  mere  theory  or  art,  but  both  and  more,  — 
the  love  and  pursuit  of  wisdom.  Its  aim  was  to  develop 
intelligent,  well  rounded  out,  and  evenly  balanced  men 
and  women. 

The  governing  principle  of  his  own  life  was  not  merely 
seeking  increase  of  knowledge,  —  though  none  pursued 
that  with  more  industry  and  success,  —  but  growth  in 
wisdom.  His  whole  career  exemplified  this,  and  he 
became  the  Franklin  among  educators.  He  was,  in  his 
ripe  years,  certainly  the  wisest  man  in  his  profession  of 
public  educator  in  this  whole  country,  if  not  in  the  world. 

As  a  teacher  he  was  a  very  strong  personality.  His 
presence  was  always  a  sunshine  and  stimulus,  his  enthu- 
siasm generous  and  unbounded,  and  dull  indeed  must  be 
the  mind  not  waked  into  activity  and  ambition  by  contact 
with  his  own.  He  had  a  real,  personal  interest  in  the 
individual  students,  studied  and  recognized  their  pecul- 
iarities, and  instructed  and  influenced  them  accordingly. 
The  breadth,  and  I  may  say  height,  of  his  teaching  was  a 
peculiarity.  He  was  constantly  broadening  and  elevat- 
ing the  minds  of  his  pupils,  and,  without  noise  or  demon- 
stration, continually  building  up  character.  The  purest 
and  noblest  aims  were  caught,  not  taught,  by  magnetic 
contact  with  his  own  clear  and  lofty  character.  The  true 
teacher  is  so  much  greater  than  a  book  as  a  living  organ- 


EULOGISTIC  LETTEES.  137 

ism  is  greater  than  a  lifeless  machine.  Fortunate  those 
who  were  pupils  of  this  great  teacher,  and  greater  man, 
and  more  fortunate  to  have  carried  his  impress  with  them 
through  life. 

To  speak  of  Dr.  Philbrick  as  a  friend,  —  and  here,  with 
me,  only  affection  can  speak.  He  was  a  very  social  per- 
son by  nature,  and  a  wide  acquaintance  among  the  best 
had  afforded  him  means  to  highly  cultivate  himself  in ; 
this  direction.  He  was  a  superior  conversationalist,  and 
his  flow  of  talk  was  always  rich  and  entertaining.  Pleas- 
ant, genial,  and  kind-hearted  to  all,  to  his  intimates  he 
was  warm,  sympathetic,  generous,  self-forgetting,  and 
devoted.  He  idealized  his  friends.  He  did  not  see  their 
faults,  or,  if  he  did,  they  were  overlooked.  He  dwelt 
upon  their  abilities  and  virtues.  How  he  loved  to 
recount  their  good  qualities,  and  what  great  things  they 
could  accomplish  if  they  dared  and  tried !  How  often 
his  cheerful  courage  and  generous  confidence  carried 
hope  and  faith  to  his  friends,  which  enabled  them  to 
accomplish  work  which  had  otherwise  been  unaccom- 
plished !  His  sympathetic  helpfulness,  extended  during 
his  whole  life  toward  young  men  and  women  who  sought 
his  aid  and  advice,  especially  those  beginning  the  profes- 
sion of  teaching,  must  be  remembered  by  thousands  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  who  were  benefited  by  it.  His 
confidence  once  given  was  perfect  unless  basely  betrayed, 
and  no  man  was  a  better  judge  of  character  or  less  often 
mistaken.  While  he  understood  the  maxim  that  to  have 
a  friend  one  must  be  one,  he  constantly  helped  his  friends 
in  all  possible  ways  when  he  knew  there  could  be  no 


138  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

return  in  kind.  He  gave  more  than  he  took,  —  he  had 
so  much  to  give,  —  and  it  seemed  to  enrich  the  giver  as 
well  as  the  receiver. 

In  his  home  he  was  brightness  itself,  thoughtful  always 
of  others,  and  here  his  life  was  as  tender  and  beautiful  as 
his  public  life  was  great  and  strong.  As  a  host,  joining 
with  his  worthy  wife, — always  so  true  a  helpmeet  to  him 
in  contributing  to  a  perfect  home, — what  pleasure  or 
comfort  for  a  guest  was  ever  overlooked,  or  what  warmth 
of  welcome  wanting ! 

Such,  but  so  imperfectly  sketched,  is  a  glimpse  of  the 
great  and  good  man,  John  Dudley  Philbrick.  His  earthly 
life  is  ended.  May  Heaven  enrich  the  world  with  an- 
other like  him  ! 

LETTER   OF    THOMAS    H.    BARNES. 

There  are  some  people  who  must  be  known  intimately 
to  be  understood  and  appreciated.  Mr,  Philbrick  was 
one  of  these.  Those  who  saw  him  merely  upon  the  plat- 
form or  at  a  distance  were  inclined  to  think  he  was  over- 
estimated by  his  friends ;  but  those  who  came  into  inti- 
mate relations  with  him  very  soon  learned  that  they  were 
enjoying  the  acquaintance  of  a  man  of  no  ordinary  mind, 
and  one  who  formed  his  opinions  with  due  deliberation 
and  undoubted  evidence  and  authority.  I  never  really 
knew  him  until  I  was  brought  into  the  close  relation 
which  exists  between  a  master  and  the  superintendent ; 
then  I  learned  how  much  of  a  man  I  was  dealing  with, 
and  how  sound  he  was  upon  all  matters  relating  to  edu- 
cation. 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  139 

When  one  knowing  Mr.  Philbrick  well  differed  from 
him  upon  educational  subjects,  it  became  him  to  well 
weigh  his  own  views  before  deciding  that  Mr.  Philbrick 
was  in  error ;  for  he  would  always  be  aware  that  Mr. 
Philbrick  never  came  to  his  conclusions  hastily,  but 
always  had  well-grounded  reasons  for  the  opinions  he 
entertained.  He  was  a  man  who  could  be  approached  by 
the  humblest  of  educators  and  be  kindly  received,  for  he 
was  a  large-hearted  man,  and  had  a  pleasant  and  encour- 
aging word  for  all  who  desired  advice  and  were  trying  to 
help  themselves. 

Although  I  knew  him  well,  yet  I  was  surprised  to  find 
that  he  was  even  better  known  out  of  New  England  than 
in  it.  When  I  was  in  Washington,  in  the  winter  of  1877 
-78,  just  as  he  was  completing  his  preparations  to  go  to 
France  as  representative  of  the  educational  interests  of 
this  country,  I  gave  myself  the  pleasure  of  calling  on 
him  at  his  headquarters  at  the  rooms  of  the  National 
Bureau  of  Education.  I  met  there  General  Eaton  and 
other  well-known  educators,  and  I  found  that  he  was 
accorded  by  them  the  highest  place  as  a  man  of  sound, 
practical  views  upon  education.  It  was  a  matter  of  great 
surprise  to  them  that  Boston  would  consent  to  accept  his 
resignation  as  superintendent  of  our  schools,  but  they 
felt  that  Boston's  loss  would  be  the  nation's  gain. 

Mr.  Philbrick  as  a  writer  upon  education  had  no  supe- 
rior, as  is  clearly  indicated  by  his  many  and  voluminous 
reports,  which  show  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
progress  of  education  in  this  and  other  countries,  and  are 
in  themselves  a  complete  history  of  the  same. 


140  JOHN  D.  PHILBBICE. 

LETTER    OF    SAMUEL    TV.    MASON. 

I  really  wish  I  could  say  something  worthy  the  name 
and  fame  of  Dr.  Philbrick,  but,  as  others  will  write  of  his 
merits  as  a  man  and  an  educator,  I  will  mention  only  one 
or  two  items  among  the  many  reminiscences  I  have  of 
him. 

After  he  had  been  appointed  master  of  the  Quincy 
School  he  visited  the  college  from  which  he  graduated, 
and  some  of  the  students  were  introduced  to  him.  Such 
was  his  zeal  and  enthusiasm  in  the  profession  to  which 
he  was  to  devote  his  life  that  many  of  us  were  induced  to 
choose  teaching  as  a  vocation.  I  thought  if  I  could  only 
be  one  of  his  corps  of  teachers,  have  him  for  a  guide,  I 
should  be  content  to  labor  a  lifetime  under  such  a 
director. 

When  teaching  in  a  distant  state,  I  heard  that  there 
was  a  vacancy  in  the  Quincy  School ;  I  immediately 
came  to  see  Mr.  Philbrick,  but  found  I  was  too  late,  for 
another  had  obtained  the  place.  But  my  journey  to  Bos- 
ton was  not  for  naught,  as  I  saw  Mr.  Philbrick  in  school, 
and  noticed  what  a  power  he  had  over  his  teachers  and 
boys,  —  what  an  interest  he  awakened  in  his  intercourse 
with  others,  and  how  splendidly  he  "kept  school.'*  I 
returned  to  my  country  school  a  better  teacher,  deter- 
mined, if  possible,  to  teach  in  Boston,  and  learn  how  to 
teach  by  knowing  and  watching  Mr.  Philbrick.  I  was 
connected  with  the  Boston  schools  when  he  was  master, 
and  I  lost  no  opportunity  to  visit  his  school  and  learn  of 
him.  I  never  went  to  his  school  without  feeling  my  own 


EULOGISTIC  LETTEES.  141 

deficiency  and  the  infinite  resources  at  his  command  to 
make  an  excellent  school. 

He  was  willing  and  anxious  to  help  young  teachers, 
and  we  looked  up  to  him  as  a  safe  adviser,  a  wise  coun- 
sellor, and  a  true  friend. 

During  his  first  term  of  service  as  superintendent  I 
was  one  of  the  Boston  masters,  and  I  know  how  we 
looked  to  him  for  direction  and  advice,  —  never  in  vain. 
He  took  a  deep  interest  in  us  and  in  our  individual 
schools,  and  often  commended  us  if  we  tried  to  develop  a 
subject  in  which,  at  the  time,  he  was  specially  interested. 
He  had  no  hobbies  to  ride,  but  believed  that  education 
meant  a  development  of  the  whole  man,  mentally,  phys- 
ically, and  morally.  He  endeavored  to  stimulate  one's 
noblest  faculties  to  action,  to  incite  him  to  form  good 
habits,  and  to  mould  an  excellent  character,  —  to  make 
him  what  he  should  be,  a  whole  man  ;  but  sometimes  he 
laid  particular  stress  on  a  certain  subject  when  he 
thought  it  had  been  neglected. 

He  always  was  popular  with  the  Boston  masters  be- 
cause he  confided  in  us,  trusted  us,  and  thought  we  knew 
how  to  manage  our  individual  schools.  He  let  us  do  as 
we  pleased  if  we  pleased  to  do  right,  but  he  was  not 
slow  to  point  out  our  faults,  and  kindly  helped  us  to 
correct  them. 

He  did  a  noble  work  for  our  schools,  and  not  alone  for 
our  schools,  but  for  the  cause  of  good  learning.  He  was 
the  teachers'  friend,  and  did  much  to  make  the  profession 
of  teaching  noble  and  honorable.  His  reputation  as  a 
true  educator  will  increase  wherever  true  culture  is 
known  and  appreciated. 


142  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

The  name  of  Dr.  Philbrick  is  a  benediction  to  us  who 
still  labor  and  wait. 

BETTER    OF    J.    t.    PICKARD,    LX.D. 

To  the  workers  in  the  broad  West  the  death  of  Dr. 
Philbrick  came  as  a  bereavement.  For  many  years  we 
have  looked  on  and  criticised  his  work,  but  with  an  ever- 
increasing  conviction  that  his  plans  were  well  laid  and 
his  methods  comprehensive.  No  one  knows  better  than 
those  who  have  labored  in  fields  similar  to  the  one  he  so 
faithfully  cultivated,  how  hard  the  task  of  organizing  and 
administering  city  schools, — hard  indeed,  when  old  and 
deep-rooted  prejudices  must  be  overcome.  Some  of  us 
at  the  West  have  felt  the  wisdom  of  his  counsels,  with- 
out realizing  the  benefit  to  us  of  being  able  to  plant  the 
good  seed  in  virgin  soil.  We  may,  on  this  account,  have 
been  ready  to  attribute  to  him  tardiness  of  movement. 
Looking  back  over  the  past,  we  see  no  retrogression,  but 
steady  progress.  What  fitter  tribute  can  we  pay  to  the 
memory  of  our  departed  brother  than  this  ?  In  labors 
abundant,  not  always  appreciated  as  they  deserved,  Dr. 
Philbrick  moved  on  serenely,  conscious  that  he  was  right, 
and  in  this  was  his  success. 

LETTER  OF  ROBERT  C.  METCALF. 

My  earliest  recollections  of  Boston  schools  are  con- 
nected with  the  administration  of  Mr.  Philbrick  as  super- 
intendent. The  number  of  schools  in  the  city  thirty 
years  ago  was  so  small  when  compared  with  the  number 
at  the  present  time  that  a  visit  from  the  superintendent 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  143 

was  by  no  means  so  rare  an  occurrence  as  now.  I  re- 
member well  those  visits,  and  the  words  of  encourage- 
ment that  were  to  me  so  helpful.  Many  a  time  has  the 
recollection  of  them  prompted  me  to  encourage  others  by 
seeing  only  what  was  worthy  of  commendation.  Most  of 
us  know  of  vastly  more  faults  than  we  are  able  to  cor- 
rect ;  and  there  is  little  need  that  they  should  be  pointed 
out  by  superiors. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  kind-hearted  and  sympathetic.  An 
excellent  teacher  himself,  he  recognized  and  appreciated 
the  good  work  of  teachers  under  his  supervision.  A  man 
of  broad  views,  he  labored  steadily  to  systematize  the 
work  of  the  Boston  schools.  A  close  student  in  educa- 
tional matters,  he  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
school  systems  of  other  cities  and  of  other  countries.  He 
believed  that  good  schools  implied  good  teachers  and 
wise  supervision.  To  procure  the  former  he  was  instru- 
mental in  establishing  the  city  normal  school,  and  he 
hoped  to  secure  the  latter  by  bringing  the  primary  and 
grammar  departments  under  one  head,  and  placing  one 
principal  over  both. 

Under  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  Philbrick  the  most 
cordial  relations  were  established  between  the  different 
schools  of  the  city.  The  masters  were  no  longer  rivals, — 
they  were  brethren,  and  have  remained  such  to  this  day. 

The  schoolmasters  of  Boston  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  Mr.  Philbrick  that  even  the  love  which  they  lavished 
upon  him  when  alive,  the  heart-felt  grief  which  followed 
him  to  the  grave,  and  the  tender  recollections  which 
cluster  about  his  memory,  can  never  repay. 


1U  JOHN  D.  PHILBUICK. 

LETTER    OF    MARY    A.    CURRIER. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  know  Mr.  Philbrick  as  a  friend, 
a  neighbor,  a  townsman,  and  an  educator.  From  a  child 
his  name  was  familiar  to  me,  but  I  did  not  know  him 
personally  till  1862,  when  I  came  to  Boston  for  an  ex- 
tended visit.  His  large-heartedness  and  his  great  wisdom 
in  all  educational  matters  at  once  impressed  me,  and  I 
was  very  soon  led  by  his  influence  into  the  public  schools 
of  Boston.  From  that  time  till  his  death  he  has  ever 
been  ready  with  his  counsel  and  encouragement,  and  as  a 
teacher  I  owe  him  more  than  any  other  person  excepting 
the  late  Lewis  B.  Monroe. 

I  will  not  here  dwell,  however,  upon  the  many  pleasant 
memories  connected  with  his  professional  work,  but  will 
allude  briefly  to  a  phase  of  his  life  not  so  well  known  to 
most  of  his  educational  friends,  —  his  loyalty  to  his 
native  town,  and  his  attachment  to  the  old  homestead. 
Amid  all  his  successes  he  never  lost  his  love  for  his  boy- 
hood  home,  nor  his  interest  in  the  humblest  of  his  neigh- 
bors, and  his  devotion  as  a  son  and  a  brother  was  beauti- 
ful in  the  extreme,  commanding  the  admiration  of  all 
who  knew  him  in  this  relation.  He  used  to  say,  in 
speaking  of  the  Deerfield  home,  "  It  is  the  prettiest  spot 
in  the  world  to  me ;  you  ought  to  go  out  in  the  field  just 
beyond  the  house  and  see  what  a  view  there  is  ! " 

Through  his  influence  each  school  district  in  the  town 
was  long  ago  supplied  with  an  Unabridged  Dictionary, 
and  improved  seats  and  desks  were  put  into  the  high 
school.  He  saw  the  need  of  a  public  library,  and  in- 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  145 

duced  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  New  York,  a  former  resi- 
dent of  the  town,  to  give  the  money,  himself  selecting  all 
the  books.  It  is  called  the  Philbrick-James  Library.  In 
his  own  school  district  he  has  annually  appropriated  a 
sum  for  a  Fourth-of-July  picnic,  and  has,  when  possible, 
been  present  himself. 

We  had  thought  to  enjoy  his  wise  counsel  many  years, 
and  to  do  much  to  express  our  gratitude  for  his  benefac- 
tions. He  is  to  be  laid  at  rest  with  his  father  and 
mother  in  the  family  burial  ground  on  the  old  place, 
which  he  had  just  surrounded  with  a  unique  granite  wall, 
in  English  style.  Here  we  shall  gladly,  every  summer, 
place  upon  his  grave  the  old-fashioned  flowers  he  so 
much  loved. 

LETTER    OF    JUSTIN    H.    SMITH. 

Early  in  1878  Mr.  Philbrick  was  selected  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  direct  the  National  Exhibit  of  Education  at 
the  Universal  Exposition,  opening  in  Paris  on  April  1st 
of  that  year.  The  authorities  were  scantily  informed  of 
the  need  for  such  an  exhibit,  and  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking ;  the  decision  was  late,  the  appropriation 
meager,  the  educational  public  indifferent  or  disheart- 
ened. Had  there  not  been  in  Mr.  Philbrick  full  knowl- 
edge, prompt  action,  ample  resources,  and  resolute 
enthusiasm,  the  enterprise  must  have  proved  a  failure. 
Warmly  and  ably  supported  by  General  Eaton,  the  Com- 
missioner of  Education,  he  was  able  to  sail  the  2Oth  of 
March  with  an  abundance  of  choice  material  secured. 

Arrived  at  Paris,  full  of  enthusiasm,  he  found  he  had 


146  JOHN  D.  PHILBKICK. 

not  a  foot  of  space,  and  was  only  one  of  half  a  hundred 
eager  and  disappointed  applicants.  The  difficulty  was 
met  with  characteristic  patience,  tact,  and  perseverance, 
and  at  last  he  was  given  a  space  of  about  21  by  25  feet, 
in  which  to  unfold  his  representative  exhibit  of  the  fore- 
most educational  country  of  the  world. 

In  organizing  and  in  conducting  the  department  he  was 
indefatigable  and  sagacious,  always  enthusiastic,  cheer- 
ful, and  philosophic,  never  losing  sight  of  his  constitu- 
ents' interests,  while  continually  in  demand  to  confer 
with  his  colleagues  of  the  Jury,  attend  social  and  official 
gatherings,  deliver  addresses  at  the  Sorbonne  and  else- 
where, explain  the  exhibit  to  deputations  of  teachers,  and 
meet  his  professional  friends  from  Great  Britain,  France, 
Germany,  Austria,  Spain,  Italy,  Sweden,  Russia,  Japan, 
Canada,  and  Australia.  At  the  close  of  the  Exposition 
his  collection  was  solicited  by  the  French  government, 
and,  substantially  a  unit,  was  permanently  established  in 
the  palace  that  contains  Venus  de  Milo  and  masterpieces 
of  Raphael,  Murillo,  Titian,  and  Rubens. 

Mr.  Philbrick  brought  back  to  America  for  his  constit- 
uents 121  high  awards, — more  than  any  other  country 
except  France  herself  received,  —  and  for  himself  the 
cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  the  gold  palm  of  the  Uni- 
versite*  de  France,  the  Doctorate  of  Laws  from  the  ancient 
University  of  St.  Andrews,  and,  —  the  only  reward  he 
sought,  —  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the  most  eminent 
educators  in  all  the  civilized  countries  of  the  globe. 

To  this  work,  as  to  all  his  professional  duties,  Mr. 
Philbrick  was  ardently  devoted,  and  he  gave  it  the  most 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  147 

a  man  could  give,  —  himself,  —  for  to  its  success  he  con- 
sciously sacrificed  the  continuance  of  his  public  career, 
and  many  of  the  hopes  he  had  cherished  for  his  declining 
years. 

LETTER    OF    HON.    JOHN    W.    DICKINSON. 

Mr.  John  D.  Philbrick  was  born  in  Deerfield,  N.  H., 
on  the  27th  of  May,  1818,  and  died  at  Danvers,  Mass., 
on  the  2d  of  February,  1886.  Mr.  Philbrick  received  his 
collegiate  education  at  Dartmouth  College,  from  which 
institution  he  graduated  in  1842.  While  a  student  in  col- 
lege, he  was  noted  for  his  industry  and  his  persever- 
ance. He  entered  college  for  a  purpose,  and  he  never 
lost  sight  of  it  until  it  was  fully  accomplished.  During 
his  sophomore  year  he  chose  teaching  for  his  life-work, 
and  from  that  time  he  studied  with  reference  to  prepar- 
ing himself  for  the  duties  of  his  chosen  profession. 

On  graduating  from  college  he  came  to  Boston  and  en- 
tered at  once  upon  his  chosen  work,  beginning  as  assist- 
ant teacher  in  the  Latin  school  in  Roxbury.  The  same 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  exhibited  themselves  in  his 
practical  life  as  a  teacher,  that  had  distinguished  him 
through  the  years  of  his  college  course  as  learner.  He 
was  industrious  in  preparing  his  daily  tasks  and  persever- 
ing in  the  application  of  his  methods  of  teaching  and 
control. 

His  success  as  a  teacher  attracted  attention,  and  in 
1844  he  was  transferred  from  the  Roxbury  school  to  the 
English  High  School.  In  1845  he  was  made  master  of 
the  Mayhew  School.  Three  years  later  he  was  appointed 


148  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

to  organize  the  Quincy  School,  the  first  of  the  present 
system  of  grammar  schools  of  the  city.  In  1852  he  was 
called  from  Boston  to  New  Britain,  Conn.,  to  organize 
the  State  Normal  School,  established  two  years  before  in 
that  town,  for  the  training  of  teachers  of  the  public 
schools.  By  an  act  of  the  Connecticut  legislature,  passed 
in  1849,  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools 
and  that  of  principal  of  the  State  Normal  School  were 
united.  Mr.  Philbrick  accepted  the  twofold  office,  and 
did  all  in  his  power  to  perform  well  the  responsible  duties 
committed  to  his  care.  As  principal  of  an  important  ed- 
ucational institution,  and  as  superintendent  of  a  system 
of  schools,  he  did  enough  for  Connecticut  to  eventually 
provide  for  her  public  schools  better  trained  teachers,  and 
for  the  teachers  themselves  a  more  generous  support. 

By  invitation  of  the  school  committee  of  Boston,  he 
came  back  to  Massachusetts  in  1857,  and  commenced 
what  proved  to  be  the  great  work  of  his  life,  —  the  re- 
organization and  direction  of  the  public  schools  of  the 
city.  Mr  Philbrick  was  superintendent  of  the  public 
schools  of  Boston  from  1857  to  1874,  and  again  from  1876 
to  1878,  and  when  he  resigned  his  office  he  left  these 
schools  the  best  organized  and  conducted  public  educa- 
tional institutions  in  this  or  any  other  country. 

Mr.  Philbrick  performed  some  important  educational 
service  outside  of  his  labors  as  superintendent  of  schools. 
He  was  for  ten  years  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Education,  during  which  time  he  gave  full  sympathy  and 
cordial  support  to  the  State  Normal  Schools,  then  in  the 
infancy  of  their  existence.  He  was  appointed  by  the 


EULOGISTIC  LETTEES.  149 

government  to  represent  our  educational  affairs  at  the 
Vienna  Exhibition,  in  1873,  and  again  at  the  great  Paris 
Exhibition  in  1878,  of  which  he  made  elaborate  and  able 
reports.  He  organized  and  superintended  our  own  edu- 
cational exhibit  at  Philadelphia,  in  1876,  and  did  his  work 
with  so  much  skill  and  good  judgment,  that  the  products 
of  the  Massachusetts  public  schools  were  judged  to  be  of 
the  highest  excellence. 

Mr.  Philbrick  has  contributed  much  to  our  educational 
literature  by  his  able  public  addresses,  and  by  his  val- 
uable school  reports,  which  have  embodied  his  best 
thoughts  on  a  great  variety  of  educational  topics.  These 
reports  will  be  read,  I  am  sure,  with  increasing  interest 
by  all  educators  who  have  access  to  them,  as  the  years 
goby. 

And,  finally,  I  find  that  Mr.  Philbrick  was  a  member  of 
that  association  of  gentlemen,  who,  interested  in  the  pro- 
fessional applications  of  science,  and  in  the  practical  and 
fine  arts,  began  to  form  those  ideas,  which,  after  strug- 
gling for  a  long  time  for  an  opportunity  to  make  a  mate- 
rial expression  of  themselves,  finally,  on  the  eighth  day 
of  April,  1862,  were  organized  into  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  —  an  institution  that  introduced 
at  once  a  new  and  most  important  element  into  our 
systems  of  education.  From  the  day  of  the  organization 
of  this  distinguished  institution  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
I  believe  Mr.  Philbrick  was  a  member  of  its  corporation 
and  of  its  committee  on  instruction.  He  was  an  earnest 
and  intelligent  friend  of  the  Institute,  for  he  was  deeply 
interested  in  its  objects  and  its  methods. 


^150  JOHN   D.   PHILBEICK. 

In  his  written  words,  found  at  the  close  of  what  he 
thought  to  be  his  last  report  to  the  School  Committee  of 
Boston,  are  expressed  the  great  principles  of  action  by 
which  he  was  moved  throughout  his  educational  life  :  — 

"  For  upward  of  thirty  years,  —  all  but  four  in  this 
city,  —  I  have  occupied,  without  the  intermission  of  a 
day,  various  positions  of  service  in  connection  with  the 
public  schools.  Here  my  professional  career  has  been 
run.  It  was  the  career  of  my  choice,  and  my  highest  am- 
bition. My  heart  has  been  in  it.  It  has  afforded  me  the 
desired  opportunity  for  making  my  humble  contribution 
to  the  general  welfare.  I  am  thankful  for  it.  I  shall 
never  cease  to  be  grateful  to  all  who  have  co-operated 
with  me  in  my  efforts  to  make  the  Boston  public  schools 
the  best  in  the  world ;  and  I  will  venture  to  say  that  I 
ask  no  ill  thing  for  the  cause,  when  on  parting  from  such 
place,  I  pray  that  whomsoever  you  shall  choose  to  succeed 
me,  he  may  resemble  me  in  the  uprightness  of  his  inten- 
tions, and  surpass  me  in  the  degree  of  his  abilities." 

LETTER    OF    HON.    MELLEN    CHAMBERLAIN. 

I  have  a  vague  recollection  of  the  late  John  D.  Phil- 
brick  when  he  was  preparing  for  college  at  Pembroke 
Academy,  but  my  intimacy  with  him  began  when  I  en- 
tered Dartmouth  College,  in  1 840,  where  he  preceded  me 
by  two  years. 

I  succeeded  him  as  teacher  of  a  district  school  at  Dan 
vers,  and  soon  found  in  my  pupils  indications  that  they 
had  been  under  the  instruction  of  a  strong  mind,  but 
otherwise  I  had  no  particular  knowledge  of  his  distinctive 
life-work.  He  was  in  one  line  of  business  and  I  in  an- 


EULOGISTIC  LETTEES.  151 

other,  but  I  always  watched  his  career  and  rejoiced  in  his 
success.  I  knew  him  best  as  a  man,  and  I  think  I  knew 
him  well. 

At  one  time  he  thought  of  entering  the  legal  profes- 
sion, and  made  some  progress  in  his  reading.  Had  he 
finally  given  himself  to  the  law  he  would,  I  have  no 
doubt,  attained  to  great  eminence  in  it.  He  always  im- 
pressed me  as  a  man  of  extraordinary  grasp  and  vigor  of 
understanding,  equable  in  its  manifestations,  and  depend- 
ing but  little  upon  external  conditions.  His  results  were 
reached  less  by  intuition  than  by  labor,  but  he  had  great 
power  for  labor,  and  honestly  applied  it  to  the  work  in 
hand.  I  should  be  much  surprised  to  learn  that  he  ever 
neglected  a  known  duty,  or  was  satisfied  with  merely  its 
perfunctory  performance.  He  seemed  to  keep  before  his 
eyes  in  all  his  work  the  highest  attainment. 

His  moral  qualities  were  no  less  marked.  He  had 
ambition  for  honorable  distinction,  but  none  other  would 
have  given  him  the  slightest  satisfaction,  for  his  mind 
was  thoroughly  honest.  He  was  a  firm  friend,  — no  one 
was  more  so,  —  and  his  judgments  of  others  were  gener- 
ally correct ;  or,  if  there  was  any  tendency  to  err,  it  was 
on  the  right  side.  He  had  the  power  of  inspiring  others 
to  excel  themselves,  and,  by  so  doing,  he  acquired  many 
faithful  coadjutors  in  his  great  work. 

Of  my  own  personal  relations  to  Mr.  Philbrick  I  do  not 
trust  myself  to  speak.  When  he  died  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation lost  one  of  its  most  able  and  devoted  friends,  and 
there  are  thousands  who  mourn  his  loss. 


152  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

LETTER    OF    WM.    A.    MOWKY,    Ph.iX 

John  D.  Philbrick  may  well  be  called  the  apostle  of 
public  school  education.  When  he  was  a  young  man 
he  devoted  himself  to  the' cause  of  education.  He  deter- 
mined to  make  it  his  life-work,  and  he  adhered  to  that 
resolution  to  the  end  of  an  active  and  an  honorable  ca- 
reer. For  forty  years  he  was  closely  identified  with  the 
interests  of  popular  education  ;  and  during  most  of  that 
long  period  he  held  responsible  positions  in  Boston.  As 
teacher  in  grammar,  high,  and  normal  schools  he  was 
ever  studying  and  applying  the  highest  principles  of  ped- 
agogy and  psychology.  As  superintendent,  whether  of 
city  or  state  schools,  he  was  always  foremost  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  fundamental  principles  which  should  govern 
in  reference  to  the  organization,  courses  of  study,  meth- 
ods of  teaching,  and  all  that  pertained  to  the  work  of  the 
schools.  Now  that  he  has  gone  to  rest,  and  the  leading 
men  who  have  been  most  intimately  acquainted  with  his 
work  reflect  upon  his  chief  qualities  and  characteristics, 
they  will  agree  that  above  all  men  he  was  familiar  with 
all  that  belonged  to  the  province  of  educational  affairs. 

He  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  schools  of  Bos- 
ton. He  knew  every  detail  of  their  organization,  their 
condition,  their  history,  and  their  prospects.  He  was 
equally  at  home  in  regard  to  the  schools  of  the  world. 
The  peculiarities  of  education  in  France,  in  Great  Brit- 
ain, in  Germany,  Austria,  or  St.  Petersburg,  were  as  clear 
to  his  mind  as  the  alphabet  or  the  multiplication  table. 
He  was  no  less  familiar  with  the  whole  history  and  pur- 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  153 

pose  of  education  in  the  past.  Upon  all  these  subjects 
his  mind  was  a  storehouse  of  wisdom,  filled  to  overflow- 
ing, and  the  door  standing  wide  open  to  all  who  desired 
to  avail  themselves  of  his  accumulated  knowledge.  Prob- 
ably there  is  no  man  in  the  world,  now  living,  who  pos- 
sesses so  full,  so  valuable,  so  minute,  and  so  exact  a 
knowledge  of  all  educational  history  and  principles,  ex- 
periments and  practices,  as  John  D.  Philbrick  carried  to 
the  grave  with  him. 

Another  characteristic  of  Dr.  Philbrick  was  his  abso- 
lute devotion  to  truth.  He  was  always  and  everywhere, 
and  under  all  circumstances,  true  to  his  convictions.  He 
was  the  soul  of  honor  and  uprightness.  He  was  a  true 
friend,  never  failing  in  time  of  need.  This  is  a  great 
thing  to  say  of  a  man  in  this  age  of  the  world.  The  num- 
ber of  lamentable  failures  to  come  up  to  this  standard  in 
these  times  is  so  great  that  the  life  of  a  true  man,  a  firm 
friend,  always  reliable  and  to  be  relied  upon,  is  a  marked 
life.  All  this  was  Mr.  Philbrick.  Now  that  he  is  silent 
in  death,  no  man  will  dare  to  say,  "  He  betrayed  me," 
or  "  He  failed  me  in  the  day  of  need."  Beside  he  was 
especially  the  warm,  personal  friend  to  the  young  teacher. 
The  time  would  fail  to  tell  the  instances  that  come  to  the 
mind  where  he  has  proved  himself  a  true  friend  to  some 
young  man  who  needed  a  word  of  encouragement,  appre- 
ciation, or  caution.  He  was  also  always  honorable  as  an 
opponent.  Never  would  he  take  any  undue  advantage, 
or  resort  to  any  questionable  methods  to  accomplish  his 
ends.  Bold,  aggressive,  manly,  he  was  at  the  same  time 
simple,  ingenuous,  honest,  and  straightforward. 


154  JOHN  D.   PH1LBRICK. 

His  reputation  was  deservedly  world-wide.  His  name 
was  a  household  word  among  educational  men,  not  only 
in  New  England,  the  South,  the  great  Northwest,  and  on 
the  Pacific  slope,  but  also  in  England,  France,  Germany, 
Austria,  Russia,  China,  and  Japan.  The  present  high 
reputation  of  the  schools  of  Boston,  the  world  over,  de- 
pends, probably,  more  upon  what  John  D.  Philbrick  has 
done  for  them  and  written  and  said  about  them  than 
upon  any  other  cause. 

He  had  a  remarkable  judgment  of  men.  Rarely  did 
he  err  in  his  estimate  of  men  or  measures.  He  was 
always  a  wise  counselor.  Above  all  he  was  a  devout 
man.  With  no  cant,  no  show,  no  pretension,  he  was  a 
sincere,  humble,  devout  worshiper  of  God.  The  funda- 
mental sentiment  of  his  life  is  voiced  in  that  beautiful 
hymn  attributed  to  Addison,  which  he  learned  in  his  boy- 
hood, which  was  ever  sweet  to  his  ear,  and  which  was  so 
impressively  sung  at  the  close  of  his  funeral  services  :  — 

"  The  spacious  firmament  on  high, 
With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  —  a  shining  frame,  — 
Their  Great  Original  proclaim. 


"  In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice  ; 
Forever  singing,  as  they  shine,  — 
1  The  Hand  that  made  us  is  divine.' " 


EULOGISTIC  LETTEES.  155 


LETTER    OF    MOSES    MERRIIX,    Ph.D. 


As  early  as  1857  and  l%5%  tne  schoolhouse  on  Bedford 
street,  Boston,  became  too  narrow  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  Latin  and  English  High  Schools,  which  were  occu- 
pying it.  The  addition  of  another  story  was  only  a 
temporary  relief.  The  schoolhouse  on  Mason  street, 
abandoned  by  the  Girls'  High  and  Normal  School,  was 
brought  into  requisition  ;  then  the  Bowditch,  on  South 
street  ;  last  of  all,  the  Primary  schoolhouse  on  Harrison 
avenue. 

Dr.  Philbrick  declared  the  necessity  of  a  new  building 
for  these  two  schools  in  his  "  Third  Semi-annual  Re- 
port/' in  1861.  As  time  advanced,  and  the  necessity 
was  beyond  question,  he  became  more  urgent  in  his  im- 
portunities for  relief.  He  saw  the  need  of  a  building  for 
the  future,  and  not  simply  for  the  present.  At  last  the 
City  Council,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  School 
Board,  voted  to  purchase  a  lot  of  land  upon  which  to 
erect  the  largest  schoolhouse  in  America,  if  not  in  the 
world. 

The  great  fire  of  1872  and  the  financial  crisis  of  1873 
delayed  operations  till  the  election  of  Mr.  F.  O.  Prince  as 
mayor.  In  his  first  inaugural  he  proposed  to  plan  for 
the  erection  of  a  building,  without  increasing  the  tax  levy 
or  the  city  debt. 

Mr.  George  A.  Clough,  the  city  architect  at  that  time, 
entered  into  the  enterprise  with  the  heartiest  zeal,  en- 
couraged and  aided  by  Dr.  Philbrick,  whose  knowledge 
of  schoolhouse  architecture  in  Europe,  —  especially  in 


156  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

Vienna,  —  and  of  the  needs  of  Boston,  was  most  valuable 
in  forming  and  completing  the  plan  of  the  proposed 
building.  Mr.  Clough  writes  thus  :  — 

"  The  earliest  impressions  that  I  received  upon  school 
architecture  were  from  Dr,  Philbrick,  as  far  back  as  1871, 
and  now,  after  fifteen  years'  experience,  I  have  had  an 
opportunity  to  see  that  his  views  were  far  in  advance  of 
all  other  writers  upon  the  subject  in  this  country.  In 
reviewing  my  experience,  I  find  myself  constantly  associ- 
ated with  the  early  views  of  Dr.  Philbrick. " 

The  schoolhouse  was  erected  within  the  limits  of  the 
appropriation,  and  is  a  very  useful  auxiliary  to  the  school 
system  of  Boston.  It  is  indeed  a  large  structure,  but 
thoroughly  substantial,  and  excites  the  admiration  of  all 
visitors.  Dr.  Philbrick  lived  to  see  the  building  occupied 
by  the  two  schools  above  named,  and  by  various  evening 
schools,  and  to  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  it 
was  not  too  large. 

While  we  are  indebted  to  many  municipal  officers  and 
private  citizens  for  their  deep  interest  in  this  project,  yet 
no  one  could  more  justly  claim  the  credit  of  urging  and 
aiding  the  prosecution  of  it,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
very  end,  than  the  lamented  Dr.  Philbrick. 

All  interested  in  high  school  education,  and  especially 
the  graduates  and  pupils  of  the  Latin  and  English  High 
Schools,  will  ever  cherish  his  memory  for  what  he  did  for 
the  welfare  of  these  two  schools.  But  no  one  knew  better 
than  he  that  it  was  not  an  imposing  structure  that  made 
the  school.  Others  will  speak  of  his  great  and  contin- 
uous influence,  through  a  long  life,  upon  the  cause  of  edu- 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  157 

cation  in  its  more  direct  and  positive  forms,  and  show 
that  this  influence  extended  wherever  popular  education 
exists. 

LETTER    OF    SAMUEL    ELIOT,    LL.X>. 

My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Philbrick  was  but  slight 
until  we  were  connected,  twenty  years  ago,  in  the  Amer- 
ican Social  Science  Association.  In  the  rather  nebulous 
mass  of  that  body  there  was  a  very  distinctly  formed 
nucleus  devoted  to  education,  and  this  attracted  him. 
He  shared  in  the  discussions  of  the  Department  Com- 
mittee, attended  the  general  meetings,  spoke  at  them, 
and  wrote  for  them.  There  were  not  many  really  active 
members.  Such  as  took  part,  unpremeditatedly  and  often 
unhappily,  in  annual  meetings,  and  then  disappeared  from 
the  sight  of  their  associates  for  a  twelvemonth,  were  the 
rule.  He  was  one  of  the  exceptions,  and  showed  his  in- 
terest in  the  less  public  work  of  the  association  through- 
out the  year.  He  was  regarded  as  an  educational  au- 
thority, and  his  opinions,  if  not  always  followed,  were 
always  respected.  He  represented  what  is  called  the 
practical  side.  Other  members  took  views  that  may 
have  seemed  larger,  and  were  certainly  more  inspiring 
to  some  of  us ;  but  he  stood  intelligibly  and  strongly  for 
progress  that  might  be  made  at  once,  while  that  which 
they  urged  needed  a  long,  in  some  instances  a  very  long, 
preparation.  Perhaps  this  contrast  would  have  faded  had 
the  educational  life  of  the  association  continued,  but  it 
came  to  a  pause,  if  not  to  an  end,  and  those  interested  in 
it,  Agassiz,  Pierce,  Phiibrick,  and  the  rest,  were  separated. 


158  JOHN  D.   PHILBKICK. 

A  year  or  two  later  I  was  unexpectedly  called  to  the 
charge  of  one  of  the  Boston  schools,  —  I  might  say,  one 
of  Dr.  Philbrick's  schools,  for  it  was  one  he  had  done 
much  to  strengthen,  and  it  had  recently  removed  to  a 
new  building  which  he  had  exerted  himself  to  plan  and 
to  secure.  This  brought  me  face  to  face  with  him  as 
superintendent,  and  I  could  see  from  within  what  I  had 
hitherto  seen  from  without.  My  observations  increased 
my  regard  for  him  and  for  the  work  he  had  done.  He 
held  a  position  strong  in  sixteen  years  of  solid  service. 
His  opinions,  generally  speaking,  were  dominant  in  the 
school  committee,  at  that  time  a  more  numerous  body 
than  the  present  board.  Many  of  the  masters  and  teach- 
ers in  the  schools  owed  their  places  more  or  less  to  him. 
Many  of  the  schoolhouses  had  been  built  under  his  direc- 
tion. The  courses  of  study  in  all  grades  had  been  laid 
out  or  modified  by  him  more  than  by  any  other  individ- 
ual. The  system  of  public  instruction  had  just  been 
completed  to  his  satisfaction  by  the  independent  estab- 
lishment of  a  normal  school.  It  was  a  triumphant 
moment  in  his  career,  and  there  were  few,  perhaps  none, 
to  dispute  the  success  of  his  administration.  Closer 
scrutiny  might  show,  or  appear  to  show,  deficiencies. 
Education  had  become  somewhat  mechanical.  The 
schools,  as  a  whole,  were  possibly  too  much  like  a  vast 
machine.  It  was  the  penalty,  one  may  say,  of  an  organ- 
ization that  had  been  painfully  perfected,  and  in  conse- 
quence, it  may  be,  of  the  struggles  required  to  perfect  it, 
had  become  too  much  of  an  end  and  too  little  of  a  means. 
But,  whatever  might  be  thought  of  the  system,  no  one 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  159 

could  question  the  zeal  or  the  ability  of  its  head.  He 
was  seen,  or  heard,  or  felt,  in  every  part  of  it.  Its  inter- 
ests were  his,  and  he  was  quick  to  perceive  where  they 
were  threatened,  or  how  they  could  be  advanced.  He 
was  contented  with  it,  yet  by  no  means  so  blindly  as  to 
be  indifferent  to  its  improvement.  On  the  contrary  he 
was  unwearied  in  suggesting  and  in  promoting  such 
changes  as  he  thought  better  than  existing  things. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  present  system,  from  the  plan  of 
a  school  building  through  all  the  offices  of  administration 
and  instruction,  and  all  classes  of  pupils,  that  does  not 
feel,  whether  consciously  or  unconsciously,  the  touch  of 
his  hand,  —  a  hand  that  has  not  vanished,  and  we  may 
say  will  never  vanish,  from  the  Boston  schools. 

Of  Dr.  Fhilbrick's  personal  traits  there  are  others  to 
speak  more  fully.  Let  me  but  speak  of  one,  and  this  is 
the  generosity  with  which  he  welcomed  a  new  associate 
in  his  labors.  I  could  not  forget  if  I  would,  —  and  assur- 
edly I  would  not,  —  the  cordial  kindness  he  showed  me 
when  I  became  one  of  the  schoolmasters  under  him.  He 
made  it  easier  for  me  to  enter  upon  a  field  of  work,  not 
new  in  substance,  but  utterly  new  in  form,  and  in  which 
I  might  have  found  greater  difficulties  but  for  his  sup- 
port. He  resigned  his  office  for  a  time  while  I  was  at 
my  post,  and  I  wrote  him  a  note  of  regret  which  was 
wholly  genuine.  The  last  time  I  met  him  for  any  con- 
versation by  ourselves,  he  said,  "  I  have  been  reading  the 
lines  you  sent  me  in  1874."  "  I  am  glad  of  it,"  I  an- 
swered, "  for  I  can  say  now  I  meant  every  word  I  wrote 
then." 


160  JOHN  D.   PHILBBIOK. 

LETTER    OF    A.    A.    MINER,    D.D. 

I  am  glad  to  pay  my  humble  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
our  late  distinguished  fellow-citizen,  John  D.  Philbrick, 
LL.D.,  in  view  of  his  high  personal  character,  and  of  his 
valuable  services  in  the  cause  of  education. 

When  I  became  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
in  1869,  he  had  already  rendered  some  years  of  service  in 
that  body.  His  large  experience  in  various  positions  in 
the  educational  field  eminently  qualified  him  to  promote, 
by  his  counsels,  the  most  important  interests  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. As  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  in  early 
life,  and  in  the  higher  schools  in  later  years  ;  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  public  schools  of  Boston,  which  were  in 
no  small  measure  transformed  during  his  administration, 
and  very  largely  through  his  influence  ;  and  as  Commis- 
sioner of  the  International  Exhibition  at  Vienna,  in  1873, 
affording  him  rare  opportunities  for  becoming  widely  ac- 
quainted with  institutions,  and  methods  of  instruction 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  —  he  became  possessed  of  such 
treasures  of  knowledge  as  made  his  services  in  the  Board 
of  Education  of  especial  value. 

One  of  the  most  marked  departures  from  the  customary 
course  of  common  school  studies,  during  the  term  of  Dr. 
Philbrick's  membership  of  the  board,  was  the  introduc- 
tion, into  the  schools,  of  elementary  instruction  in  indus- 
trial drawing,  In  response  to  a  petition  from  some  of  our 
foremost  citizens,  seconded  by  the  Board  of  Education, 
the  legislature,  in  1870,  passed  an  act  introducing  indus- 
trial drawing  into  the  school  curriculum  in  cities  and 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  161 

towns  containing  more  than  ten  thousand  inhabitants. 
But  brief  experience  under  the  law  made  it  apparent  that 
special  preparation  of  teachers  for  this  work  was  neces- 
sary to  give  definiteness  of  aim  and  adaptation  of  meth- 
ods to  the  end  in  view. 

Out  of  this  discovery,  among  other  instrumentalities, 
grew  the  State  Normal  Art  School.  In  1873  an  appro- 
priation of  $9,000  was  made  for  that  purpose,  and  rooms, 
entirely  inadequate,  in  the  two  upper  stories,  —  one  being 
the  attic,  —  of  33  Pemberton  Square,  an  ordinary  dwell- 
ing-house, were  assigned  for  the  school.  Out  of  this 
very  humble  beginning  has  grown  an  institution  which  is 
both  an  honor  to  Massachusetts  and  a  blessing  to  the 
whole  country.  Appreciating  this  honor  and  usefulness, 
the  State,  in  1885,  unconditionally  set  apart  a  piece  of 
land  at  the  corner  of  Newbury  and  Exeter  streets,  worth 
from  $50,000  to  $60,000,  for  the  site  of  a  suitable  build- 
ing for  the  school,  and  appropriated  $85,000  for  the 
erection  of  the  building  itself,  which  has  already  been 
put  under  contract. 

The  beginnings  of  this  enterprise,  now  so  full  of  use- 
fulness and  promise,  were  not  secured  without  much 
thought,  study,  and  argument,  repeated  year  after  year, 
by  the  Board  of  Education,  in  all  the  earlier  of  which 
labors  Dr.  Philbrick  bore  a  conspicuous  part.  The 
school  was  opened  in  the  autumn  of  1873.  During  the 
first  year  of  its  history  he  held  the  responsible  position  of 
chairman  of  its  board  of  visitors,  and  would  doubtless 
have  been  continued  in  that  office  had  not  his  member- 
ship of  the  Board  of  Education  terminated.  All  who 


162  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

have  been  associated  with  Dr.  Philbrick  in  these  various 
labors,  I  feel  warranted  in  saying,  hold  his  memory  in 
very  high  esteem. 

LETTER    OF    O.    B.    CHENEY,    I>.D. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  Mr.  Philbrick's  acquaintance  for 
nearly  forty-eight  years.  We  first  met  at  Hanover, 
N.  H.,  as  students  of  Dartmouth  College.  Several  things 
served  to  make  our  acquaintance  speedy,  and  to  intensify 
it  from  that  day  until  the  closing  days  of  his  life. 

His  father,  the  late  Rev.  Peter  Philbrick,  of  Deerfield, 
N.  H.,  and  my  father,  as  well  as  Mr.  Philbrick  and  my. 
self,  were  members  of  the  same  religious  people,  —  a  de- 
nomination about  that  time  becoming  interested  in  estab- 
lishing several  institutions  of  learning,  such  as  academies 
or  seminaries. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  say  anything  about  John  D.  Phil- 
brick's  great  work  in  bringing  up  the  public  schools  of 
Boston  to  their  present  high  standard,  —  a  standard  that 
makes  them,  I  am  safe  in  saying,  a  model  for  the  world 
to  pattern  after.  Neither  am  I  called  upon  to  speak  of 
his  labors  in  foreign  lands  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation. Others  among  his  many  friends  who  know  what 
he  has  done  for  this  cause  at  home  and  abroad  (for  he 
yet  speaketh)  will  do  justice  to  him  in  this  respect. 

It  is  for  me,  in  few  words,  to  speak  of  his  interest  in 
the  work  of  founding  the  school  over  which  I  have  had 
the  honor  to  preside  from  the  beginning.  It  is  over 
thirty-one  years  since  the  work  of  founding  this  college 
was  begun,  and,  whatever  part  I  have  had  in  establishing 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  163 

and  managing  it,  I  have  always  had  Mr.  Philbrick  at  my 
right  hand  as  a  friend  and  adviser.  He  took  pride  in  the 
fact  that  the  religious  people  with  whom  his  honored 
father  was  during  his  life  connected,  are  laying  the  foun- 
dations of  a  college  yet  to  rank  among  the  first  in  the 
country.  It  should  be  said  that  this  college  had  his 
heart,  his  purse,  and  his  vote.  He  was  a  trustee  for  ten 
years,  from  1873  to  1883. 

All  who  knew  Mr,  Philbrick  know,  without  my  telling 
them,  that  he  did  not  believe  in  having  honorary  mem- 
bers of  college  boards  of  trustees,  and  as  the  state  of  his 
health  forbade  his  presence  longer  at  our  commencement 
exercises,  he  sent  me  his  resignation  as  a  trustee.  How 
reluctant  the  board  was  to  accept  it  may  be  known  from 
the  fact  that  it  was  laid  upon  the  table  and  not  accepted 
until  a  year  after,  at  his  persistent  request. 

He  received  his  high  degree  from  this  college  in  1872. 
The  record  in  our  last  Triennial  is  as  follows  :  Johannes- 
Dudley  Philbrick,  Curator,  Dart.  1842  et  Mr.,  Superin- 
tentor  Bostoniae  Scholarum,  LL.D. ;  Univ.  Sancti  An- 
dreae  apud  Scotos,  LL.D.,  1878;  Officier  de  Tlnstruction 
Publique,  France,  1878  ;  Chevalier  de  la  Legion  d'  Hon- 
neur,  1878. 

The  number  of  men  who  have  done  more  than  John  D. 
Philbrick  to  make  the  world  better  is  small.  How  sad 
that  a  life  such  as  his  was,  —  so  true,  so  pure,  so  noble, 
so  unselfish,  —  could  not  have  been  longer !  Yes,  it 
must  be  that  he  is  a  living,  happy  man  still.  I  have  not 
a  doubt  of  it,  for,  if  I  doubted  it,  I  should  be  of  all  men 
most  miserable. 


164  JOHN  D.   PH1LBEICK. 

"  For  our  citizenship  is  in  heaven,  from  whence  also 
we  look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall 
change  our  vile  body  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto 
his  glorious  body,  according  to  the  working  whereby  he 
is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself." 

LETTER  OF  HIRAM  ORCUTT,  IX.D. 

John  Dudley  Philbrick,  a  classmate  in  the  same  sec- 
tion, occupying  the  same  line  of  seats  in  the  classroom, 
and  a  room  only  two  doors  distant,  I  knew  him  well  ;  and 
having  chosen  the  same  profession,  I  continued  my  ac- 
quaintance with  him  to  the  end.  Many  kind,  apprecia- 
tive and  tender  words  have  already  been  spoken  of  him 
since  his  departure.  I  beg  to  add  my  tribute  of  respect 
and  affection ;  for  I  knew  him  only  to  honor,  admire,  and 
love  him. 

It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Philbrick  was  not  "  a  natural 
leader  in  scholarship."  That  he  was  a  thorough  and  suc- 
cessful scholar,  his  record  will  show.  That  he  was  "  not 
brilliant,"  in  the  sense  this  word  is  generally  understood, 
may  be  accounted  for  by  recalling  two  facts  ;  viz.,  his 
preparation  for  college  was  limited  (only  fourteen  months 
time  was  allowed  him),  and  his  aim  was  not  to  gain  the 
class  leadership  and  the  valedictory,  but  to  acquire  a 
broader  and  more  practical  culture.  Hence,  while  many 
a  valedictorian  has  passed  off  the  stage  to  be  forgotten, 
Mr.  Philbrick  came  to  the  front  in  his  profession,  and 
not  only  became  a  "  leader  of  men,"  but  "  of  all  the  men 
of  the  present  generation  who  have  devoted  their  lives 
to  education,  he  was  the  foremost"  This  fact,  it  seems 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  165 

to  me,  affords  the  best  possible  evidence  that  he  was, 
after  all,  a  man  of  "  brilliant  parts." 

It  was  well  said,  "-Mr.  Philbrick  always  stood  for  the 
right,  and  standing  there  he  never  could  be  moved." 
Yes,  and  he  would  fight  for  it.  With  the  rowdyism  of 
college  life  he  had  no  sympathy.  An  anecdote  will  illus- 
trate. The  self-styled  "  Dart.  Guards,"  a  band  of  hazers, 
whose  object  was  to  annoy  and  insult  freshmen,  came, 
masked,  one  evening,  into  his  room.  His  room-mate  hid 
in  the  closet,  but  Mr.  Philbrick,  armed  with  a  stick  of 
wood,  ordered  them  to  leave.  Not  obeying,  he  attacked 
and  drove  them,  sore-headed,  from  the  premises.  He  had 
so  severely  punished  them  that  the  organization  was 
never  heard  from  afterward. 

That  Mr.  Philbrick  was  a  true,  earnest,  and  helpful 
friend,  the  writer  is  a  grateful  witness.  Always  atten- 
tive, kind  and  sympathetic,  he  at  once  gained  my  confi- 
dence and  affection,  and  many  times,  during  our  forty 
years  of  toil  in  the  same  profession,  did  I  seek  his  coun- 
sel and  never  sought  in  vain.  From  no  other  man  have 
I  ever  received  so  much  help,  encouragement,  and  in- 
spiration. 

But  "  the  great  and  good  man  "  has  gone  to  his  rest, — 

"  Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 

His  book  of  life,  as  indicated  by  the  magnificent  floral 
book  laid  upon  the  foot  of  his  casket  by  the  Boston  mas- 
ters, is  "  closed,"  but  at  least  one  chapter  was  unfinished. 
During  my  last  pleasant  interview  with  Dr.  Philbrick,  at 


166  JOHN   D.   PHILBRICK. 

his  home,  he  told  me  of  his  plans  and  work  laid  out  for 
the  immediate  future,  and  that  he  was  ready  to  com- 
mence it  the  next  morning.  He  did  commence,  but 
could  not  finish  it  as  he  had  hoped.  Yet  "  Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,"  has  been  spoken,  and  a  monu- 
ment has  been  erected  to  his  memory  which  will  never 
crumble. 

LETTER    OF    H.    F.    HARRINGTON,    A.M. 

I  heard  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Philbrick  with  peculiar 
feelings.  I  have  repeatedly  drawn  upon  his  kind  friend- 
ship for  assistance,  and  it  was  only  a  week  or  two  pre- 
vious to  his  death  that  I  received  from  him  an  extended 
argumentative  letter  on  a  topic  of  great  interest  to  me. 
I  was  preparing  an  early  expression  of  my  gratitude  for 
the  benefit  it  had  been  when  I  was  saddened  by  the 
report  that  he  was  no  more. 

I  have  known  him  intimately  since  the  inception  of 
the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  Educa- 
tional Department  of  which  he  held  a  prominent  official 
station.  Deputed  by  him  to  organize  a  distinct  section 
of  the  Massachusetts  Exhibit,  and  repeatedly  brought 
into  consultation  with  him  on  that  and  other  points  con- 
nected with  the  great  undertaking,  I  had  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  test  his  powers  both  as  a  thinker  and  an  organ- 
izer, and  I  learned  to  hold  him  in  great  respect  for  his 
comprehensive  grasp  of  principles,  and  his  sagacious 
management  of  affairs. 

His  services  to  the  cause  of  education  in  this  country 
are  well  known.  He  was  an  authority  and  a  power  as 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  167 

long  as  his  health  enabled  him  to  take  an  active  part 
in  affairs.  It  can  truly  be  said  of  him,  and  it  would  be 
a  proud  record  for  any  man,  that  there  has  not  been  a 
forward  movement  in  this  country  in  the  great  cause, 
which  was  the  paramount  joy  and  interest  of  his  life, 
with  which  he  was  not  identified  as  one  of  its  intelli- 
gent instigators  and  its  heartfelt  and  devoted  sponsors. 
The  good  he  has  done  is  his  noblest  monument. 

LETTER    OF    A.    P.    MARBLE,   Ph.D. 

John  D.  Philbrick  has,  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  cent- 
ury, been  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in  connec- 
tion with  the  American  system  of  common  schools.  He 
became  superintendent  of  schools  in  the  city  of  Boston 
when  that  office  was  yet  in  its  infancy ;  he  was  the 
second  incumbent  of  the  office  in  that  city.  The  organ- 
ization of  the  schools  in  classes,  each  in  a  separate  room 
and  in  care  of  a  separate  teacher,  was  adopted  through 
his  influence,  in  place  of  the  large  assembly  rooms,  with 
assistant  teachers  to  conduct  classes  in  adjoining  recita- 
tion rooms,  —  a  plan  in  vogue  generally  before  this 
organization.  The  impetus  given  to  public  schools  in 
that  city  by  this  organization  extended  itself  to  other 
cities  and  towns  throughout  the  country.  This  organiza- 
tion, indeed,  has  in  some  instances  been  carried  to  excess. 
no  doubt,  and  there  has  recently  been  a  healthy  reaction, 
To  no  one  man,  perhaps,  is  due  the  present  advance  in 
education  so  much  as  to  Mr.  Philbrick. 

In  the  exhibits  of  education  at  the  Centennial  in  Phil- 
adelphia, and  at  the  World's  Fair  at  Paris  and  at  Vienna, 


168  JOHN  D.   PHILBBICE. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  prominent.  He  has  been  influential 
in  bringing  this  important  interest  before  the  public  and 
into  a  position  which  its  essential  character  demands. 
Education  is  now  in  the  foreground  among  our  national 
concerns  through  the  life-long  activity  of  Mr.  Philbrick. 
His  proud  position  as  an  educator  places  him  among  our 
national  benefactors,  on  a  line  with  the  statesmen  of  the 
land,  — the  Sumners,  the  Garfields,  and  the  Manns. 

LETTER    OF    HENRY    E.    SHEPHERD. 

My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Philbrick  began  during  the 
time  that  I  was  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
Baltimore,  Md.,  1875-1882.  The  annual  convention 
of  school  superintendents,  which  met  usually  in  Wash- 
ington, first  brought  us  into  personal  relations.  Our 
acquaintance  soon  ripened  into  a  warm  friendship,  a 
friendship  which,  I  trust,  has  not  been  dissolved,  even  by 
death. 

"  They  do  not  change  who  die, 
Nor  lose  their  mortal  sympathy, 
Nor  change  to  us,  although  they  change." 

In  conventions  and  associations  in  which  were  em- 
bodied the  purest  and  most  advanced  educational  thought 
of  our  era,  Mr.  Philbrick  was  an  acknowledged  leader. 
Indeed,  the  position  seemed  to  be  spontaneously  conceded 
to  him ;  no  one  thought  of  disputing  his  supremacy. 
Perfectly  devoid  of  pretentiousness  or  assumption,  some- 
what reserved  in  his  bearing  toward  strangers,  he  was 
everywhere  recognized,  almost  intuitively,  as  an  oracle 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  169 

whose  utterances  upon  the  grandest  educational  problems 
of  the  time  were  to  be  received  with  profoundest  regard 
and  respect.  My  own  opinion  is,  that  the  beginning  of 
Mr.  Philbrick's  national  renown  as  a  wise  and  judicious 
educator,  may  be  traced  to  the  series  of  Reports  issued 
by  him  while  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
Boston,  from  about  1856  to  1875.  The  Boston  Reports 
of  those  years  are  unsurpassed  in  modern  literature  for 
soundness  of  judgment,  breadth  of  view,  and  definiteness 
of  purpose.  If  collected  into  a  single  volume,  and  pub- 
lished in  such  form  as  to  be  easily  available,  they  would 
prove  invaluable  to  teachers  of  all  classes  throughout  our 
common  country.  When  I  first  entered  upon  the  deli- 
cate and  complex  duties  of  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  in  Baltimore,  Mr.  Philbrick's  wise  and  dis- 
criminating Reports  were  my  most  trusted  guides  and 
counselors.  Doubtless  scores  of  others,  who  never  saw 
his  face,  can  bear  testimony  similar  to  my  own.  The  life 
and  work  of  Mr.  Philbrick  are  a  striking  refutation  of 
that  morbid  sentiment  which  the  Poet  Laureate  has  ex- 
pressed in  one  of  his  best-known  creations  :  — 

"  The  individual  withers, 

And  the  world  is  more  and  more." 

The  "colossal  results  achieved  by  such  men,  despite  of 
the  most  formidable  opposition,  demonstrate  that  in  no 
age  has  the  power  of  individual  influence,  directed  by 
rational  intellect,  been  more  productive  and  more  resist- 
less than  in  our  own. 

My  last  meeting  with  Mr.  Philbrick  was  in  Washing- 


170  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

ton,  March,  1882,  at  the  session  of  our  Superintendents' 
Convention.  It  was  there,  if  I  mistake  not,  that  he  read 
his  admirable  paper  upon  the  work  accomplished  by  our 
"city  systems/' —  a  paper  since  issued  in  its  elaborated 
form  by  the  Department  of  Education.  To  those 
younger  than  himself,  and  needing  the  rare  benefits  of 
his  matured  judgment,  he  was  most  kindly  and  sympa- 
thetic. I  can  never  efface  the  recollection  of  my  last 
interview  with  him  at  the  Ebbitt  House  in  Washington, 
during  the  session  of  our  convention.  How  little  did  I 
imagine  that  it  was  the  last ! 

No  man  of  our  generation  has  surpassed  Mr.  Philbrick 
in  serene  wisdom,  discerning  judgment,  singleness  of  aim, 
and  continuity  of  effort.  Many  of  the  most  excellent 
characteristics  of  our  school  system  may  be  traced  to  his 
inspiration ;  his  whole  life  was  a  protest  against  empiri- 
cism, mechanism,  and  all  the  disingenuous  arts  by  which 
men  of  lesser  mould  have  won  transient  fame. 

LETTER    OF    A.    P.    STONE,    UL.D. 

My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Philbrick  extended  over 
the  whole  of  his  professional  life.  From  the  first  I  was 
attracted  to  him  as  a  bright,  pleasant  man,  with  winning 
ways,  and  an  active  participant  in  the  early  meetings 
of  the  Massachusetts  Teachers'  Association  and  other 
gatherings  of  school  workers.  On  such  occasions  he  was 
always  helpful  and  inspiring,  for  he  had  an  intense  in- 
terest in  teachers'  meetings,  and  his  professional  enthu- 
siasm, which  was  always  of  the  highest  type,  gave  a  kind 
of  glow  to  his  thoughts  and  words  that  was  peculiarly 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  171 

elevating  and  enjoyable.  As  a  student  of  education  he 
was  profound  in  its  history,  philosophy,  and  methods. 
To  the  progress  of  the  cause  of  education  for  the  last 
forty  years,  and  especially  in  the  line  of  the  common 
schools,  he  jcontributed  his  best  thoughts  and  strength, 
and  with  great  success. 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  characteristics  of  Mr.  Phil- 
brick  was  his  warm  personal  interest  in  his  fellow-teach- 
ers. For  them  he  always  had  a  pleasant  smile  of  wel- 
come, as  well  as  a  word  of  encouragement  and  of  counsel, 
if  asked  for  or  needed.  By  his  advice  to  school  com- 
mittees and  superintendents,  many  teachers  have  found 
themselves  called  to  improved  situations,  and  oftentimes 
without  ever  knowing  by  whose  counsel  it  was  done. 

In  the  death  of  Mr.  Philbrick  the  cause  of  education 
loses  one  of  its  most  devoted  and  efficient  workers.  As 
a  personal  friend  I  feel  his  loss  most  keenly. 

LETTER  OF    E.  C.    CARRIGAN,  ESQ. 

"We  will  sell,  or  deny,  or  defer  right  or  justice  to  no 
man/'  was  a  principle  of  Magna  Charta  which  the  barons 
and  the  primate  of  England  exacted  from  an  ambitious 
king.  Upon  the  key-stone  of  the  free,  universal  educa- 
tion of  the  people  stood  John  D.  Philbrick,  foremost 
among  American  educators,  delaying  and  denying  to 
none  the  most  liberal  tuition  offered  by  a  generous 
public.  Whether  a  child  of  the  city  or  country,  native 
or  foreign  born,  attending  school  morning  or  evening, 
Mr.  Philbrick  guarded  with  watchful,  parental  care  the 
welfare  of  every  ward  of  the  Commonwealth,  encour- 


172  JOHN  D.   PHILBE1CK. 

aging  all  to  the  highest  possible  advancement.  To  him 
there  were  known  no  boundaries  in  education,  and  in 
every  department  of  the  common  school  system,  at  all 
times,  he  insisted  that  in  both  day  and  evening  schools 
"  the  best  is  the  best  everywhere."  Urging  this  prin- 
ciple, he  was  practically  the  sole  official  promoter,  if  not 
the  founder,  of  our  present  system  of  evening  schools. 
With  the  yearly  influx  of  foreign  population,  and  the 
proneness  of  parents  early  to  call  their  children  from  the 
schoolroom  to  the  factory  and  family  support,  he  claimed 
that  a  well-matured  system  of  evening  schools  was  but 
the  natural  and  necessary  complement  of  the  day  schools. 
Instead  of  committing  to  the  guardianship  of  an  indiffer- 
ent tax-paying  community,  he  wisely  contended  for  their 
establishment  under  a  general  mandatory  enactment,  that 
they  might  be  made  a  permanent  part  of  the  State  school 
system.  To  this  end  he  most  freely  gave  his  voice  and 
his  pen,  and  added  his  great  influence. 

I  remember  his  happy  expression  and  hearty  counsel, 
when  I  presented  for  his  criticism  the  bill  then  pending 
enactment  by  the  legislature  of  1883,  and  which  to  his 
great  satisfaction  was  passed  and  approved  in  May  of 
the  same  year.  Though  the  act  provided  for  the  main- 
tenance of  evening  schools  in  all  cities  and  towns  of  ten 
thousand  and  more  inhabitants,  he  still  urged  the  per- 
manent establishment  of  high  schools  in  larger  cities 
under  the  same  law. 

For  evening  art  and  industrial  schools  he  held  the 
same  generous  and  intelligent  views.  He  thought  it  im- 
portant to  imitate  Great  Britain  and  Continental  Europe 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  173 

in  the  establishment  for  artisans  and  others,  evening 
courses,  free  to  the  public,  irrespective  of  sex  and  occu- 
pation. His  theory  of  evening  school  work  was  espe- 
cially practical  and  wise.  He  insisted  upon  close  organ- 
ization and  classification,  and,  like  Guizot,  believed  that 
"it  is  the  master  that  makes  the  school  "  ;  that  these 
schools  were  not  designed  as  an  asylum  for  the  superan- 
nuated and  rejected  teachers  of  day  schools,  nor  to  be 
made  the  depository  of  cast-off  supplies.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  would  provide  the  best  accommodations  and 
supplies,  and  give  their  management  to  competent  day 
masters. 

In  his  earliest  conception  of  the  design,  scope,  and 
management  of  evening  schools,  Mr.  Philbrick  proved 
himself  a  wise  counsellor  ;  and  in  every  department, 
whether  advising  or  supervising,  as  was  said  of  Welling- 
ton, he  was  something  more  than  a  commissary  and  clerk. 
He  was  the  founder  of  principles  and  originator  of 
methods  for  these  schools,  and  a  master  every  way  com- 
petent to  direct  their  use  to  practical  and  profitable  ends. 
In  criticising  a  wrong  he  was  ready  to  suggest  the 
remedy,  and  his  great  success  in  the  direction  of  evening 
school  service  was  but  the  legitimate  and  necessary  result 
of  honest,  studious,  and  intelligent  effort. 

As  a  friend,  a  promoter  and  advocate  of  secondary  in- 
struction in  evening  schools,  his  reports  offer  the  best 
evidence.  Of  the  Boston  Evening  High  School  he  said, 
as  early  as  1874,  when  it  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  W.  Nichols, 
"  I  never  visited  a  school  in  the  city  that  afforded  me  more 
satisfaction  than  this,  and  in  none  is  the  public  money 
expended  to  better  advantage." 


174  JOHN  D.   PII1LBKICK. 

Mr.  Philbrick's  latest  encouragement  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  school  of  which  he  was  the  'founder  was 
probably  expressed  to  a  gathering  of  a  few  of  his  personal 
friends  at  the  recent  reunion  of  the  Franklin  School  grad- 
uates, when,  after  expressing  his  great  satisfaction  at  the 
establishment  of  the  school  in  the  High  and  Latin  School 
building,  he  said,  "  Our  high  schools  are  the  most  demo- 
cratic of  all  our  schools,  but  the  most  democratic  of  high 
schools  is  the  evening  high  school."  In  his  work  for  this 
branch  of  education  his  heart  was  always  as  generous  as 
his  mind  was  great.  A  staunch  supporter  of  the  most 
liberal  appropriations  for  higher  instruction  in  both  day 
and  evening  schools,  his  counsel  and  influence  were 
sought  in  everything  material  to  the  welfare  of  the  even- 
ing high  school.  Of  the  petitioners  who  urged  the  re- 
establishment  of  this  school  in  the  high  school  building, 
Mr.  Philbrick  was  among  the  foremost  to  champion  its 
support ;  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  his  services  were 
remembered  by  the  pupils,  as  expressed  in  the  following 
resolutions  :  — 

Whereas,  The  Boston  Evening  High  School  was  established 
and  generously  maintained  under  the  direction  of  Supt.  John 
D.  Philbrick,  whose  death  we  regretfully  learn  : 

Resolved,  That,  by  the  death  of  John  D.  Philbrick,  this 
school  has  lost  a  most  constant  and  faithful  friend,  whose 
labors  for  evening  education  were  specially  marked  by  zealous, 
untiring  devotion  in  all  its  departments. 

Resolved,  That,  while  we,  the  pupils  of  the  Evening  High 
School,  record  our  earnest  appreciation  of  his  services  in  our 
behalf,  we  would  extend  to  his  bereaved  household  and 
friends  our  heartfelt  sympathy. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  attend  the  funeral,  and 
present  to  the  widow  an  engrossed  copy  of  these  resolutions. 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  175 

Having  resigned  his  trust,  and  in  every  department 
rendered  an  account  approved  by  his  Commonwealth  and 
country,  it  was  especially  fitting  that  those  whom  he 
served  with  such  constant,  unselfish  devotion  should  thus 
record  their  appreciation  of  a  benefactor  and  friend,  and 
that  we  all  should  pause,  if  but  to  consider  for  a  moment 
the  briefest  review  of  the  life  and  labors  of  one  of  the 
greatest  savants  of  his  age  and  the  nation's  greatest  edu- 
cational public  servant. 

I/ETTER    OF    J,    H.    HOOSE,    Ph.I>, 

The  Journal  for  Feb.  18,  1886,  is  just  at  hand.  I  have 
read  it  with  peculiar  and  deep  interest.  It  has  been  my 
good  fortune  to  know  Mr  Philbrick,  although  not  inti- 
mately. I  remember  him  with  marked  pleasure  for  the 
interest  that  he  always  took  in  me,  —  a  comparative 
stranger  to  him.  I  remember  the  deep  interest  that  he 
took  in  the  tenure  of  position  of  teachers.  His  sympa- 
thies were  always  warm  and  right.  He  was,  perhaps,  the 
highest  type  of  the  practical  schoolman,  and  the  most 
enlightened  educator  that  America  has  yet  produced. 

But  I  write  for  an  additional  purpose,  which  is  this  : 
You  have  devoted  one  issue  of  the  Journal  entirely  to 
a  memorial  of  a  teacher.  This  is  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  educational  journalism,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
most  thoughtful  and  praiseworthy  acts  of  these  times. 
The  example  set  by  you  in  this  instance  will  have  its 
influence  upon  the  members  of  our  profession,  for  it  will 
show  to  teachers  at  large  that  there  are  many  lines  of 
tender  memories  of  teachers  which  are  cherished  by  the 


176  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

worthy  men  and  women  of  our  fraternity.  This  memorial 
will  make  teachers  feel  less  lonely  ;  it  will  strengthen  the 
bonds  of  brotherhood  among  them,  and  help  on  the  era 
of  fraternal  sympathy.  In  honoring  the  memory  of  an 
educator  in  the  manner  that  you  have,  you  have  ennobled 
the  teacher,  magnified  his  profession,  and  honored  educa- 
tional journalism. 

LETTER  OF  PROF.  W.  H.  PAYNE. 

Of  the  duties  binding  on  men  toward  their  fellows, 
none  is  higher  or  sweeter  than  that  of  rendering  just 
praise  to  those  whose  forms  have  forever  disappeared 
from  human  sight.  The  tears  we  shed  over  the  graves  of 
our  departed  friends  are  unselfish  tributes,  pleasing  to 
heaven  and  wholesome  to  the  soul  that  weeps.  We  may 
thus  have  the  delicious  joy  of  doing  a  service  for  which 
there  can  be  no  return ;  and  by  this  respite  from  selfish 
emotions,  the  soul  gains  strength  for  a  new  start  towards 
the  higher  life. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  my  dearest  professional  friend,  and 
his  death  was  a  shock  whose  effects  are  still  vividly  felt 
in  my  heart,  My  affection  for  him  was  the  greater  be- 
cause out  of  his  own  generous  impulses  he  bestowed  on 
me  his  good  offices  while  I  was  still  a  stranger  to  him. 
Soon  after  he  retired  from  Boston  to  Asylum  Station,  he 
sent  me  warm  words  of  commendation  for  the  expression 
of  some  sentiment  which  he  approved,  and  a  hearty  invi- 
tation to  visit  him  whenever  my  duties  might  call  me 
to  the  East.  Learning  of  my  contemplated  visit  to 
Boston  in  the  winter  of  1884-5,  ne  repeated  his  request 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  177 

for  a  visit  from  me,  and  when  I  reached  my  hotel  I  found 
a  note  regretting  his  inability  to  meet  me  in  the  city,  and 
again  urging  me  to  see  him  at  his  home.  One  leading 
motive  for  this  journey  to  the  East  was  the  pleasure  of 
paying  my  respects  to  the  friend  for  whom  I  had  such 
veneration  ;  and  the  moment  my  immediate  duty  was 
done  I  made  my  way  to  Asylum  Station.  Mr.  Philbrick's 
home  was  a  little  way  from  the  station,  and  his  directions 
had  been  so  minute  that  I  needed  no  guide  to  my  desti- 
nation. I  was  hardly  half-way  to  his  house  when  I  was 
met  by  a  horseman  galloping  towards  the  little  station. 
As  he  came  near  he  seemed  ta  suspect  my  mission,  and 
in  a  moment  there  was  mutual  recognition.  In  a  few 
moments  more  I  reached  the  house,  and  a  hearty  welcome 
by  my  good  hostess  was  hardly  over  before  Mr.  Philbrick 
returned  from  his  morning  gallop  to  the  post-office.  I 
find  it  impossible  to  express  any  adequate  notion  of  my 
serene  enjoyment  during  the  afternoon  and  evening  of 
that  memorable  winter's  day,  I  thought  then,  as  I  think 
now,  that  a  more  beautiful  mode  of  spending  the  evening 
of  one's  life  could  hardly  be  imagined.  Otium  cum  dig- 
nitate  most  nearly  expresses  my  impression  of  Mr. 
Philbrick's  life  in  the  calm  retirement  of  that  charming 
home.  The  picture  of  serene  and  lovable  age  that  is 
embalmed  in  the  Cato  major,  I  seemed  to  see  realized  in 
that  New  England  country  seat. 

As  might  be  anticipated,  our  conversations  went  far 
into  the  night  and  ran  chiefly  on  men  and  books  and  in- 
stitutions as  they  were  related  to  education  and  schools. 
As  is  well  known,  Mr.  Philbrick  had  had  exceptional 


178  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

advantages  for  educational  observation  and  study.  At 
Vienna,  Paris,  and  Philadelphia  he  had  employed  his  time 
as  an  expert  in  the  study  of  education  in  all  its  phases, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  doubtless  the  wisest 
public  school  man  in  this  country.  He  had  gathered 
books  and  documents  from  all  the  countries  he  had  vis- 
ited, and  his  memory  was  teeming  with  interesting  recol- 
lections of  the  most  eminent  educators  of  the  world. 
My  professional  enthusiasm  was  rekindled  and  nourished ; 
and  as  I  bade  my  good  friends  adieu  on  that  winter  morn- 
ing, I  was  grateful  to  Heaven  for  such  examples  of 
wisdom,  goodness,  and  content  as  I  had  seen  in  that 
charming  home. 

In  the  July  following  I  visited  Boston  again,  and  on 
the  morning  of  the  fourth  I  was  again  Mr.  Philbrick's 
guest.  I  met  the  same  hearty  greeting  as  before,  and 
there  was  a  renewal  of  the  same  delightful  conversations. 
In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  Mr.  Philbrick  had  his  car- 
riage brought  to  the  door  and  asked  me  to  go  out  with 
him  for  a  ride.  We  drove  through  shaded  lanes  for  a 
a  few  miles,  and  then  into  the  grounds  of  a  beautiful 
country  residence.  Mr.  Philbrick  presented  me  to  the 
ladies  of  the  house,  and  soon  after  there  entered  the 
parlor  a  plainly  dressed  man  of  dignified  bearing  whom  I 
had  observed  coming  up  the  lane  as  we  approached  the 
house.  Mr.  Philbrick  had  given  me  the  unexpected 
pleasure  of  an  afternoon  call  on  one  of  his  neighbors, 
Mr.  Whittier. 

I  dare  say  Mr.  Whittier  remembers  me,  for  I  did  not 
ask  him  for  his  autograph ;  I  have  what  is  better,  —  a 


EULOGISTIC  LETTERS.  179 

charming  mental  photograph  of  the  poet,  his  home,  his 
study,  his  pet  on  the  porch  (a  lusty  fox  squirrel),  the  con- 
versation on  men  and  books,  in  which,  it  seemed  to  me, 
that,  after  all,  the  man  was  greater  even  than  the  poet ; 
and,  finally,  the  kindly  farewell  as  we  took  our  leave. 

Our  homeward  ride  took  us  through  Danvers  Meadows, 
and  past  the  old  Salem  church  ;  and  it  was  twilight 
when  the  thread  of  our  conversation  was  broken  by  our 
arrival  home. 

A  few  days  after  I  met  Mr.  Philbrick  again  at  Newport, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction ; 
and  still  later  by  a  few  days,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Na- 
tional Association  in  Saratoga.  Finally,  I  took  my  leave 
of  him  in  the  parlors  of  Congress  Hall,  and  was  never  to 
see  his  face  again. 


180  JOHN  D.   PULLBEICK. 


INTERNATIONAL  TRIBUTE. 


In  the  Revue  P/dagogique,  a  monthly  educational  mag- 
azine published  in  Paris,  there  appeared,  March,  1886, 
the  following  appreciative  article  upon  the  character  and 
work  of  Dr.  Philbrick.  It  was  written  by  M.  Buisson,  a 
man  better  qualified  than  any  other  in  France  to  estimate 
Mr.  Philbrick's  work  at  its  true  value,  and  to  do  ample 
justice  to  his  private  character.  M.  Buisson  had  not  only 
visited  the  Boston  schools,  while  under  Dr.  Philbrick's 
charge,  but  had  often  met  him  at  international  exhi- 
bitions, and  had  received  him  into  his  own  home  in  Paris 
as  a  guest,  for  months  during  the  year  of  the  Paris 
Exposition.  It  is  no  small  honor  to  have  won  such 
an  opinion  from  so  eminent  a  scholar  and  school  man  as 
M.  Buisson. 

JOEX    D.    PHILBRICK. 

(May  27,  1818  —  Feb.  2,  1886.) 

We  cannot  let  the  sad  news,  brought  to  us  by  the 
Journal  of  Education,  of  Boston,  pass  without  giving  a 
word  of  respectful  sympathy  and  homage  to  the  memory 
of  a  worthy  man,  whose  loss  the  United  States  mourns 
to-day. 

The  reputations  of  teachers  and  school  superintendents 
rarely  cross  the  ocean  from  the  New  World  to  the  Old, 
or  from  the  Old  to  the  New,  The  name  of  Mr.  Philbrick 


INTERNATIONAL   TRIBUTE.  181 

has  proved  one  of  the  first  exceptions  to  this  mutual 
ignorance  and  indifference.  For  twenty  years  his  name 
has  been  the  best  known  in  Europe  of  all  the  American 
educators.  And  this  was  only  just. 

No  man  has  worked  more,  nor  more  happily  succeeded 
in  making  known,  in  school  matters,  America  to  Europe- 
ans, or  Europe  to  Americans.  He  was  by  his  work,  his 
travels,  his  missions  to  the  great  Expositions  of  Vienna 
and  Paris,  his  reports,  his  official  publications,  the  bond 
of  union  between  two  worlds;  he  was  among  the  first  to 
understand  and  prove  the  incomparable  advantages  of 
these  international  relations. 

Such  a  tribute  of  gratitude  as  has  been  rendered  to  the 
memory  of  Mr.  Philbrick  by  his  fellow  citizens  in  the 
United  States,  is  a  beautiful  end  to  a  man's  life.  The 
number  of  the  Journal  of  Education  which  is  consecrated 
to  him  forms  one  of  the  most  touching  memorials  which 
could  be  given  to  a  man  to  merit.  There  are  in  it  a  series 
of  tender  testimonials,  all  coming  from  men  who  have  seen 
him  at  his  work,  all  full  of  facts,  and  of  an  American 
directness,  without  other  eloquence  than  that  of  personal 
feeling  and  sincerity. 

One  cannot  read  these  pages  without  seeing  how  much 
they  honor  both  the  man  and  the  country.  A  people 
must  be  great,  free,  profoundly  republican,  and  must  feel 
more  deeply  than  trite  phrases  can  express,  what  educa- 
tion is  in  the  destiny  of  a  country,  to  give,  outside  of 
official  recognition,  this  outpouring  of  public  sympathy, 
this  diversity  of  admiration,  of  gratitude,  and  respect  for 
a  man  who  has  been  all  his  life  nothing  but  a  school  man. 
A  man  must  be  of  rare  moral  worth  to  have  acquired,  by 
such  a  work,  such  a  popularity.  But  whoever  has  known 
Mr.  Philbrick  can  understand  the  secret  of  his  power  and 
of  his  success.  He  was  a  spirit  upright,  guileless,  and 
frank,  one  of  those  souls  who,  continue  young  because 


182  JOHN   D.   PHILBRICK. 

they  remain  sincere.  He  had  found  his  vocation  and  he 
never  left  it,  even  in  a  country  and  in  a  time  in  which 
men  of  his  ability  could  find  in  political  life  so  many  more 
brilliant  openings.  He  never  thought  of  change.  He 
was  of  those  who  love  teaching,  — let  us  say,  rather,  let 
us  say  as  the  Americans  say,  education.  He  had  the 
happiness  to  conceive  this  most  beautiful  dream  and  to 
live  it. 

When  quite  young  he  had  heard  Horace  Mann,  and 
that  powerful  voice  had  stirred  him  even  to  his  inmost 
soul  ;  he  remembered  still,  in  his  last  years,  some  admir- 
able fragments  of  the  lectures  of  this  great  patriot,  and 
recited  them  to  us  with  an  emotion  that  made  it  impos- 
sible not  to  share  in  his  feeling.  Those  dying  words  of 
Horace  Mann  had  been  the  motto  of  his  whole  life,  had 
sunk  into  his  heart,  "  Be  ashamed  to  die  without  having 
accomplished  some  victory  for  humanity. " 

Through  Horace  Mann  came  to  him  a  sort  jof  vision  of 
what  a  life  wholly  consecrated  to  the  work  of  popular 
education  might  be.  Mr.  Philbrick  was  at  that  time  a 
simple  professor  in  a  small  college.  He  did  not  dream 
that  for  him  was  reserved  the  overwhelming  task  of 
succeeding  Horace  Mann,  and  of  being  for  more  than 
twenty  years  superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Boston. 

He  was  still  in  that  position  in  1876,  at  the  time  of  the 
visit  of  the  French  delegates  sent  to  the  Centennial 
Exposition  at  Philadelphia. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  repeat  what  the  delegates  said 
in  their  joint  collective  report  upon  Boston  and  her 
schools,  the  finest,  perhaps,  in  the  world.  Let  us  remem- 
ber that  their  organization,  commenced  by  Horace  Mann, 
was  mostly  carried  out  by  the  personal  work  of  Mr. 
Philbrick. 

His  mind  was  clear  and  just,  he  was  always  open  to 
ideas  of  progress.  He  read  or  saw  all  that  could  in 


INTERNATIONAL  TRIBUTE.  183 

struct  him,  and  he  borrowed  freely  from  Germany,  Eng- 
land, and  France  all  the  details  of  school  organization,  all 
the  methods  of  teaching  which  seemed  to  him  worthy  of 
imitation.  But  under  all  the  borrowing,  there  was  always 
something  which  was  his  own,  and  which  gave  unity  to 
his  plans,  force  to  his  actions,  and  originality  to  his 
system  ;  he  had  an  aim  and  he  never  lost  sight  of  it,  either 
in  the  whole  scheme  or  in  the  details.  This  aim  was  to 
make  free  citizens  for  a  free  country  ;  it  was  to  give  them 
education,  not  from  without,  but  from  within ;  it  was  to 
reach  the  life  of  the  soul,  and  to  make  education  the 
apprenticeship  of  self-government. 

How  many  times  in  our  conversations  in  Boston, 
during  our  visit,  and  in  Paris  during  his  stay  at  the 
Exposition  of  1878,  have  we  noticed  with  what  wonderful 
clearness  he  threw  light  upon  the  most  delicate  and  most 
complex  school  questions,  by  raising  himself  with  a  single 
bound  above  secondary  interests,  to  judge  and  decide 
summarily,  categorically,  in  the  American  fashion, 
according  to  the  single  criterion,  "  Is  such  a  practice, 
such  a  method,  fit  to  form  freemen  ?"  Or  again,  "  If  it 
is  adopted,  will  our  pupils  be  improved  in  mind  or  in 
character  ?  Yes,  then  it  is  good.  If  not,  no. 

We  design  at  this  time  neither  to  undertake  the  biog- 
raphy of  Mr.  Philbrick,  nor  a  deep  study  of  his  school 
work.  But  it  may  be  allowed  here  to  reproduce  some 
lines  of  his,  which  will  picture  him  better  than  any 
eulogy.  They  are  at  the  end  of  one  of  his  last  reports 
to  the  school  committee  of  Boston  ;  he  is  going  to  resign 
his  office,  and  he  cannot  help  reverting  to  himself  at  the 
moment  of  bidding  a  last  adieu  to  his  fellow  citizens  :  — 

"  For  upwards  of  thirty  years,  —  all  but  four  in  this  city,  — • 
I  have  occupied,  without  the  intermission  of  a  day,  various 
positions  of  service  in  connection  with  public  schools.  Here 


184  JOHN  D.  PHILBBICK. 

my  professional  career  has  been  run.  It  was  the  career  of  my 
choice,  and  my  highest  ambition.  My  heart  has  been  in  it. 
It  has  afforded  me  the  desired  opportunity  for  making  my 
humble  contribution  to  the  general  welfare.  I  am  thankful 
for  it.  I  shall  never  cease  to  be  grateful  to  all  who  have 
co-operated  with  me  in  my  efforts  to  make  the  Boston  Public 
Schools  the  best  in  the  world.  And  I  will  venture  to  say  that 
I  ask  no  ill  thing  for  the  cause,  when,  on  parting  from  this 
place,  I  pray  that  whomsoever  you  choose  to  succeed  me,  he 
may  resemble  me  in  uprightness  of  intentions  and  surpass  me 
in  abilities." 


BOSTON'S  TRIBUTE. 


BOSTON'S  TRIBUTE, 


THE    MASTERS'    ASSOC lATIOff. 

The  Boston  Masters'  Association  is  composed  of  all 
the  principals  of  the  Normal,  Latin,  High,  and  Grammar 
Schools,  employed  in  the  city  of  Boston.  This  Associ- 
ation meets  once  a  month,  at  the  call  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  schools,  for  the  discussion  of  educational 
questions,  and  for  conference  in  regard  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  schools.  These  meetings  are  held  at  the 
rooms  of  the  school  committee,  and  are  followed  by  a 
dinner  at  Parker's. 

Here  it  was  that  the  Boston  masters  were  brought 
into  the  most  intimate  relations  with  Dr.  Philbrick. 
Here,  more  than  anywhere  else,  that  they  learned  to 
appreciate  his  wisdom,  his  power  in  practical  affairs,  his 
patience,  his  thorough  appreciation  of  good  work  and 
honest  endeavor,  and  his  constant  effort  to  dignify  the 
office  of  the  teacher  and  make  it  honorable  and  desirable. 
Here,  too,  it  was  that  the  simple  honesty  of  his  nature 
most  showed  itself,  and  that  warm-hearted  generosity 
which  gave  due  credit  to  all  his  co-workers  in  the  cause  of 
education.  Here  were  cemented  those  bonds  of  personal 
friendship  which  united  superintendent  and  teachers  into 
a  band  of  faithful  friends  working  for  the  common  good 

(187) 


188  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

\ 

of  the  schools.  Here,  in  short,  he  learned  to  respect  and 
love  the  Boston  masters,  and  here  they  learned  to  regard 
him  as  the  ideal  superintendent. 

The  March  meeting  of  this  Association  was  given  up 
to  a  commemoration  of  the  work  and  character  of  Dr. 
Philbrick.  Among  the  addresses  that  evening  were  the 
following  :  — 

ADDRESS    OF    C.    GOODWIN    CLARK. 

Mr.  Superintendent  and  Brother  Masters  :  — 

In  offering  these  resolutions  for  the  committee,  I  wish 
to  add  a  few  personal  words  of  appreciation  of  the  char- 
acter and  characteristics  of  our  beloved  and  lamented 
friend. 

My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Philbrick  began  in  New 
Britain,  Conn.,  in  the  winter  of  1852.  I  had  charge  of 
the  grammar  department  of  the  model  school  connected 
with  the  Normal  School,  when  he  was  appointed  to 
the  principalship,  and  the  following  year  I  became  a 
student  of  the  Normal  School,  and  came  daily  under 
his  teaching  and  influence.  It  has  been  my  good  fortune 
since  that  time  to  be  on  terms  of  friendship,  to  go  to 
him  for  advice,  and,  for  the  last  twenty-five  years,  to 
co-operate  with  him  to  do  the  best  thing  for  the  schools 
of  Boston. 

His  deep  personal  interest  in  the  students  of  New 
Britain  attached  them  to  him.  He  set  before  them  a  high 
ideal,  and  inspired  them  with  needed  confidence.  His 
enthusiasm  was  contagious,  and  aroused  in  them  a  zeal 
for  improvement  and  for  the  doing  of  worthy  work  for  a 


BOSTON'S  TRIBUTE.  189 

noble  calling.  No  matter  how  short  the  interview,  they 
left  him  with  enlarged  views  and  nobler  aspirations.  He 
was  like  a  charged  "  Ley  den  jar''  ;  whatever  teacher 
came  in  contact  with  him  received  a  spark,  and  he  was 
an  unimpressible  dullard  who  was  not  improved  by 
contact. 

I  called  on  him  once  during  a  serious  illness,  when 
visitors  were  a  hindrance  ;  but  his  interest  in  the  work 
in  New  Haven,  where  Prof.  Moses  True  Brown  and 
myself  had  been  sent  to  do  pioneer  work  in  reorganizing 
the  school  system  of  that  city,  was  unabated,  and  his 
faithful  wife  had  to  check  him  for  exceeding  his  strength 
in  cheering  and  counseling  us. 

Mr.  Philbrick  had  common  sense  in  an  uncommon 
degree,  which  men  call  wisdom.  He  was  a  needed 
and  appreciated  counselor  in  educational  affairs.  His 
growth  in  wisdom  was  continuous  and  symmetrical,  like 
the  growth  of  a  tree,  and  as  we  who  have  been  long  asso- 
ciated with  him  have  grown  in  years  and  experience,  we 
have  not  outgrown  his  judgment,  but  have  appreciated  it 
more  and  more.  His  consecration  to  education  was  com- 
plete. In  him  was  illustrated  the  saying  of  the  Great 
Teacher,  "  If  thine  eye  be  single  thy  whole  body  shall 
be  full  of  light." 

It  is  human  for  ignorance  and  inexperience  to  speak 
lightly  and  perhaps  disparagingly  of  our  official  supe- 
riors, whom  we  do  not  know  or  cannot  appreciate.  I 
have  heard  such  remarks  regarding  Mr.  Philbrick,  and 
it  has  been  interesting  to  note  the  changed  opinions  of 
such  when  placed  in  responsible  positions.  "  I  did  not 


190  JOHN  D.  PHILBBICK. 

appreciate  Mr.  Philbrick  until  I  came  to  this  responsi- 
bility/' has  been  the  usual  remark. 

Mr.  Philbrick  had  a  cheerful  theory  for  earnest,  ambi- 
tious young  men  ;  it  was  that  whatever  happened  was  for 
the  best,  and  that  the  lesson  they  were  to  learn  was  "  to 
labor  and  to  wait."  There  are  those  present  to  whom 
his  words  were  the  silver  lining  to  their  cloud  of  dis- 
appointment. 

It  has  been  said  by  one  who  knew  him  most  intimately, 
that  he  "  idealized  his  friends"  I  think  the  charge  is 
true,  and  am  sure  that  he  often  embarrassed  them  by  his 
opinion  of  what  they  were  capable  of  doing,  and  his 
earnestness  to  have  them  do  it.  What  a  tribute  to 
his  generous  heart  that  he  "idealized  his  friends"  and 
thought  them  capable  of  doing  things  beyond  their  own 
estimate  !  How  many  of  us  think  more  highly  of  our 
friends  than  we  ought  to  think  ?  Yes,  there  was  nothing 
disparaging  in  Mr.  Philbrick's  nature.  He  saw  the  best 
in  every  school,  in  every  teacher,  in  every  school  official ; 
he  saw  merit  from  afar. 

His  charity  was  Christ-like.  "  They  know  not  what 
they  do,"  was  his  feeling  toward  ignorant  and  wrong- 
headed  officials,  for  whom  he  never  seemed  to  entertain 
bitterness  or  ill-nature,  though  they  would  have  over- 
turned the  slow  progress  of  years,  and  illustrated  the 
saying  of  Goethe,  "  There  is  nothing  so  terrible  as  active 
ignorance." 

I  once  called  on  Mr,  Philbrick  at  his  office,  and  he  told 
me  that  he  had  just  written  a  letter  of  sympathy  to  a 
member  of  the  school  committee,  then  in  his  last  illness, 


BOSTON'S  TRIBUTE.  191 

who,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  had  opposed  all  his 
recommendations,  disparaged  his  labors,  and  seemed  to 
delight  in  keeping  things  as  they  were.  I  said,  "  How 
could  you  do  it  ? "  He  replied,  with  tenderness,  "  I 
couldn't  help  it ;  I  never  laid  up  anything  against  him. 
He  never  understood  me." 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  fortunate  in  his  time  of  coming  to 
Boston.  There  was  a  great  work  to  be  done  in  harmo- 
nizing and  systematizing  the  educational  work,  and  in 
reconstructing  the  primary  schools  in  accordance  with 
modern  ideas  and  methods ;  work  that  once  done  wisely 
needs  not  to  be  done  again.  How  patiently,  persistently, 
and  wisely  he  labored,  with  no  assistant,  not  even  a  clerk, 
you,  senior  Masters,  well  know,  and  with  what  success 
all  well-informed  educators  also  know.  This  leavening 
of  the  schools  was  accomplished  without  the  authority  to 
appoint  or  remove  a  single  teacher.  It  was  like  the 
genial  influence  of  the  sun  on  the  vegetable  world. 

He  was  fortunate  in  his  last  visit  to  Europe,  after  his 
work  in  Boston  was  done,  and  his  able  reports  had  been 
read  abroad,  and  given  reputation  to  the  Boston  schools. 

The  congress  of  educators  from  the  chief  countries  of 
Europe,  after  such  an  acquaintance  as  long  service  on 
important  juries  and  committees  afforded,  paid  him  honor 
and  deference.  His  genial  spirit  and  courtly  manners, 
united  with  wide  knowledge  and  wisdom  in  counsel,  won 
the  affection  and  esteem  of  his  associates.  Educational 
men  traveling  in  Europe  afterwards  found  Mr.  Phil- 
brick  the  most  honored  educational  man  in  America. 

As   highest    summits    are   first    seen    from    afar,   he 


192  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

returned  from  Europe  with  the  reputation  of  a  leader  and 
an  authority  in  educational  affairs. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  fortunate  in  his  domestic  relations  ; 
his  devoted  wife  was  a  hearty  co-worker  in  his  plans. 
She  was  an  ideal  companion  in  her  hospitality  to  his 
friends,  and  in  her  sympathy  with  his  aspirations.  His 
domestic  life  was  congenial  to  his  heart  and  stimulating 
to  his  ambition. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  not  blessed  with  children,  but  he 
gave  his  life  to  educate  the  children  of  others.  He  took 
the  children  of  Boston  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them. 
Let  us,  above  all  men,  speak  his  name  with  loyalty  to 
his  memory,  with  gratitude  for  his  great  service,  with 
reverence  and  admiration  for  his  character,  and  affec- 
tionate remembrance  of  his  friendship. 

Let  us  ask  that  a  noble  schoolhouse  be  named  for  him 
who  did  so  much  for  Boston  schools. 

ADDRESS  OF  ROBERT  SWAN. 

Mr.   Superintendent  and  Brethren  :  — 

It  was  not  my  privilege  to  enjoy  intimate  personal 
relations  with  Dr.  Philbrick,  but  it  was  my  privilege  to 
be  the  master  of  a  school  during  the  whole  time  of  his 
administration  of  the  office  of  superintendent ;  and  I  can 
certify  without  bias  to  the  manner  in  which  his  duties 
were  performed. 

My  first  knowledge  of  Mr.  Philbrick  was  at  the  time 
of  his  appointment  as  writing-master  of  the  Mayhew 
School,  forty  years  ago.  The  schools  were  then  on  the 
old  system,  so  called,  each  with  a  grammar  and  a  writing 


BOSTON'S   TRIBUTE.  193 

master,  the  scholars  alternating,  morning  and  afternoon. 
My  brother,  William  D.  Swan,  was  master  in  the 
Grammar  Department,  and,  consequently,  I  was  fully 
informed  in  regard  to  the  enthusiasm  and  ability  with 
which  Mr.  Philbrick  discharged  the  duties  of  his 
position.  There  were  two  large  halls,  in  each  of  which 
there  were  four  teachers  and  two  hundred  boys,  the 
master  at  one  end  of  the  room,  an  usher  at  the  other, 
with  two  female  teachers  between  them,  who  retired  with 
half  a  class  at  a  time  to  recitation  rooms.  What  a  school 
of  experience  for  a  young  master ! 

His  success  here  pointed  to  him,  emphatically,  as  the 
man  to  take  charge  of  the  new  Quincy  school,  the  build- 
ing for  which  was  then  in  progress  of  erection,  and  he 
was  transferred  to  this  position,  leaving  the  Mayhew 
with  Mr.  Swan  as  sole  master,  and  inaugurating  the 
Quincy  with  single  classrooms,  on  the  new  system  with 
a  single  head.  There  is  no  need  of  reciting  the  story  of 
his  great  success  in  the  new  school.  The  two  schools 
were  so  conducted  that  the  old  system,  though  strenu- 
ously supported  by  its  advocates,  was  abandoned,  and  the 
new  order  became  general,  and  is  in  vogue  at  the  present 
time. 

The  next  step  in  progress  in  the  school  system  was  the 
permission  from  the  legislature  for  the  city  to  appoint  a 
superintendent  of  schools,  and  Mr.  Philbrick  was  a  prom- 
inent candidate  for  the  place.  Mr.  Bishop,  who  had  been, 
for  some  time  previous,  superintendent  of  the  Providence 
schools,  was  chosen,  and  Mr.  Philbrick  soon  after 
resigned  his  mastership  in  Boston  to  take  charge  of  a 


194  JOHN  D.    PHILBEICK. 

normal  school  in  Connecticut.  The  gentleman  opposite 
has  spoken  of  the  good  fortune  that  always  attended 
Mr.  Philbrick,  and  we  can  now  appreciate  how  fortunate 
he  was  in  not  succeeding  in  his  first  application  for  the 
position  of  superintendent,  for  the  experience  in  Connec- 
ticut was  absolutely  necessary  to  properly  prepare  him 
for  his  great  work,  which  he  afterward  so  successfully 
matured,  of  perfecting  a  school  system  for  Boston. 

Mr.  Bishop  soon  resigned,  and  Mr.  Philbrick  was  then 
appointed  without  opposition.  When  he  commenced  his 
duties,  the  Grammar  and  Primary  School  committees 
were  entirely  separate  organizations,  the  Primary  Commit- 
tee being  chosen  by  the  Grammar  Board  from  names  sent 
in  to  them  by  individuals  who  were  willing  to  serve  in 
that  capacity.  Each  primary  schoolroom  contained  all 
the  classes  of  the  primary  grade.  The  law  was  changed, 
bringing  all  the  schools  under  one  Board,  and,  later,  the 
schools  were  organized  in  groups  of  six  classes,  each  class 
in  a  separate  room.  Then  came  the  placing  of  the  pri- 
mary schools  under  the  supervision  of  the  masters  of  the 
districts,  thus  making  a  systematic  grading  from  the 
child's  entering  the  schools,  at  five  years  of  age,  till  the 
graduation  from  the  grammar  school  at  fifteen.  The 
magnitude  of  this  improvement,  in  accomplishing  which 
Mr.  Philbrick  was  the  leading,  directing  spirit,  those 
listening  to  me  can  fully  appreciate. 

Mr.  Philbrick's  influence  was  powerful  in  advancing 
the  status  of  the  teacher's  calling  in  the  estimation  of 
the  public,  and  in  thus  increasing  their  compensation. 
The  salaries  in  many  instances  are  now  double  what  were 


BOSTON'S   TRIBUTE.  195 

paid  in  1857,  calling  in  superior  service,  and  attaching 
men  to  the  occupation  for  life,  rather  than,  as  was  too 
often  the  case  in  former  times,  making  teaching  a  tem- 
porary expedient  to  provide  the  means  to  pursue  some 
one  of  the  professions. 

I  might  enumerate  the  judicious  programme  prepared 
for  the  schools,  the  establishment  of  the  Normal  School 
for  girls,  the  advancement  of  industrial  work,  now 
so  popular  but  in  former  years  lacking  support  among 
educators,  and  other  elements  of  progress  all  around  us, 
but  the  minds  of  most  present  are  too  familiar  with  his 
later  work  to  make  such  enumeration  in  this  presence 
necessary.  Our  thoughts  at  this  time  turn  to  him  as  the 
leading  educator  among  the  many  noble  men  who  have 
labored  among  us. 

Dr.  Philbrick  was  considered  by  some  a  timid  man,  but 
what  was  thought  timidity  was  only  extreme  carefulness. 
He  fully  surveyed  the  whole  field  before  making  any 
important  change,  and  his  sagacity  was  such  that, 
throughout  his  whole  term  of  service,  there  was  con- 
stant progress.  There  was  never  at  any  time  a  necessity 
for  taking  any  step  backwards. 

Words  of  eulogy  are  too  often  exaggerated,  and  awaken 
in  those  who  hear  them  painful  comparison  with  the 
person's  actual  character ;  but  to-night  no  sentiment  of 
the  kind  suggests  itself  to  any  one  present.  We  have 
listened  to  words  truthful  and  sincere,  bearing  the  cor- 
responding impress  from  the  depths  of  feeling.  If  any 
other  token  of  the  estimation  in  which  our  departed 
friend  was  held  was  necessary,  the  throng  of  men,  edu- 


196  JOHN   D.   PHILBEICK. 

cators  from  various  parts  of  the  state,  who  braved  the 
most  inclement  day  of  the  winter  to  stand  sorrowing 
about  his  body  in  the  beautiful  home  made  desolate  by 
his  death,  would  attest  the  love  and  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  by  those  who  had  known  him  longest  and  best. 

ADDRESS    OF    JOSHUA    BATES,    IX.  D. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Masters'  Association : 

I  desire  on  this  occasion  to  add  my  testimony  to  the 
many  expressions  of  regard  which  have  already  been 
uttered  in  appreciation  of  our  departed  friend,  the  Hon. 
John  D.  Philbrick. 

Born  in  the  Granite  State,  of  worthy  parentage,  Dr. 
Philbrick,  amidst  comfortable  surroundings,  was  trained 
by  the  circumstances  of  his  early  life  to  habits  of  industry, 
and  patient  labor.  He  early  learned  that  success  in 
life  could  be  secured  only  by  personal  effort  and  close 
application  to  all  duties.  It  is  a  prominent  characteristic 
of  our  republican  institutions  that  many  a  boy  early  learns 
that  he  must  depend  on  his  own  resources,  often  under 
almost  insurmountable  difficulties,  in  order  to  reach  posi- 
tions of  usefulness  and  honor. 

In  the  school,  academy,  and  college,  we  find  young 
Philbrick  the  vigorous  boy,  the  industrious  young  man, 
assiduously  devoting  his  time  and  talents  to  the  faithful 
performance  of  all  requirements. 

Early  in  life,  he  made  the  decision  to  devote  his  ener- 
gies to  the  profession  of  teaching.  He  was  not,  per- 
haps, what  could  be  called  a  genius ;  yet  his  applica- 
tion was  so  untiring  that  he  accomplished  by  industry 


BOSTON'S  TBIBUTE.  197 

what  genius  often  fails  to  do.  He  had  unlimited  influ- 
ence with  his  classmates,  and  was  thoroughly  appreciated 
and  respected  by  all  the  college  officers. 

Success  in  discipline  and  instruction  in  his  first  school 
experiences,  led  him  soon  to  find  and  secure  positions 
that  developed  great  executive  ability  in  all  educational 
organization  and  administration.  Blest  in  youth  with 
robust  health  and  a  mind  acute  and  vigorous,  with  a  keen 
sense  of  moral  rectitude,  we  find  Dr.  Philbrick  in  his 
manhood  equipped  and  ready  for  all  undertakings,  how- 
ever laborious  and  difficult.  His  character  was  remark- 
able for  strong  common  sense,  symmetry,  and  complete- 
ness. He  had  a  clear,  intuitive  insight  into  the  charac- 
ter of  men,  as  well  as  the  relation  and  fitness  of  things. 
He  exhibited,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  kindness  of  heart 
and  gentleness  of  spirit,  but  also  uncommon  strength  of 
purpose.  His  social  qualities  were  of  a  high  order  ;  he 
was  always  cheerful  and  affable,  which,  with  a  cultivated 
intellect  and  courteous  manner,  made  him  the  most  de- 
lightful of  companions.  He  acquired  knowledge  by  con- 
stant study  and  retained  it  with  great  tenacity,  and  was 
able  to  apply  it  with  skill  and  efficiency.  His  per- 
ceptive faculties  were  quick  and  his  memory  ready 
and  retentive,  so  that  in  company,  at  home,  and  in  his 
travels,  he  was  at  school,  gathering  knowledge  for  future 
use.  He  kindly  sympathized  with  all  teachers  desirous 
to  do  their  duty,  and  aided  them  in  all  their  trials  by 
judicious  encouragement  and  advice. 

My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Philbrick  dates  from  the 
year  1844,  while  he  was  connected  as  usher  with  the 


198  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

English  High  School.  On  the  organization  of  the  Quincy 
School  in  1848,  and  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Philbrick  as 
its  master,  I  soon  learned  the  worth  and  value  of  his  com- 
panionship. Owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  Quincy  and 
Brimmer  districts,  we  naturally  had  occasion  to  consult 
on  matters  pertaining  to  our  respective  schools,  and 
thus  we  became  quite  intimate.  Such  was  the  harmony 
of  our  views  on  all  educational  subjects,  that  our  hitherto 
casual  meetings  were  changed  to  frequent  interviews,  that 
ripened  into  mutual  and  warm  friendship,  which  contin- 
ued uninterrupted  to  the  last. 

I  propose  to  speak  briefly  of  Dr.  Philbrick,  as  some  of 
this  association  of  masters  knew  him  in  years  past  in 
friendly  and  professional  intercourse,  calling  up  in  pleas- 
ing reminiscences  some  characteristics  familiar  to  those 
of  us  who  were  associated  with  him  in  social  life  and  in 
educational  work. 

The  social  element  in  his  character  and  his  genial 
nature  were  such  as  to  gather  around  him  a  host  of 
friends ;  and  the  quiet  but  sterling  integrity  of  the  man 
created  confidence  in  all  who  secured  his  friendship. 
Any  one  at  all  acquainted  with  our  friend  must  have  par- 
ticularly noticed  his  calm  demeanor,  fortitude,  and  noble 
bearing  under  all  circumstances,  either  of  success  or  dis- 
couragement, in  his  professional  life.  Dr.  Philbrick's 
character  never  shone  brighter  than  when  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  difficulties  and  trials.  Such  firmness  and 
dignity,  such  undisturbed  peace  of  mind,  such  conscious- 
ness of  no  wrong-doing,  —  for  his  natural  frankness  for- 
bade all  duplicity,  —  and  such  manly  and  Christian  resig- 


BOSTON'S   TRIBUTE.  199 

nation  gave  a  peculiar  loveliness  to  the  man,  and  all  his 
friends  admired  his  noble  bearing  under  all  trials  and 
oppositions. 

Dr.  Philbrick,  after  carefully  and  thoroughly  investi- 
gating any  subject,  and  becoming  convinced  what  course, 
in  his  best  judgment,  was  the  proper  and  honest  one  to 
pursue,  held  fast  and  firmly  to  his  convictions,  and  was 
decided  and  independent  iri  action.  He  was  emphat- 
ically practical  and  sound  in  all  educational  opinions. 
He  was  distinguished  for  completeness  in  mental  endow- 
ments, and  was  so  well  stocked  with  good  common  sense 
that  he  could  not  brook  or  sustain  any  sensational  or 
empirical  notions  in  any  department  of  his  work  ;  but  he 
was  never  rude  or  offensive  in  his  opposition  to  what  he 
considered  unsound  and  visionary  theories.  He  labored 
constantly  and  aimed  conscientiously  to  encourage  and 
sustain  all  methods  in  discipline  and  teaching  that  would 
lead  to  thorough  instruction  and  complete  scholarship. 
He  so  heartily  and  truly  desired  substantial  and  definite 
results,  that  he  totally  ignored  all  shams  and  all  desultory 
and  uncertain  methods.  He  was  far  more  willing  to 
submit  peaceably  to  defeat,  than  ignobly  to  compromise, 
or  substitute  any  system  that  would  encourage  super- 
ficial teaching  and  the  fanciful  schemes  of  modern 
agitators.  In  this  particular  he  ranks  pre-eminent  for 
honesty  and  unflinching  purpose  in  all  undertakings. 
While  some  constantly  cater  for  public  approbation,  and 
shift  and  turn  to  gain  applause,  he  was  ever  truly  and 
perseveringly  committed  to  such  methods  as  would  con- 
duce to  practical  and  genuine  results. 


200  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

In  his  domestic,  social,  and  public  life  we  know  his 
worth,  as  an  affectionate  husband,  a  faithful  brother 
teacher,  and  more  recently  as  a  wise,  conservative,  and 
judicious  superintendent  and  director  of  all  school  ad- 
ministrations ;  we  well  know  how  earnestly  and  inde- 
pendently he  devoted  himself  to  duty,  and  the  deep 
interest  he  ever  felt  in  all  teachers  and  their  profession  ; 
and  how  kindly  and  patiently  he  always  listened  to  any 
suggestions  and  inquiries,  and  never  in  an  authoritative 
manner  forced  his  opinions  on  any  one. 

Dr.  Philbrick  will  ever  hold  a  high  rank  as  a  clear  and 
vigorous  interpreter  of  the  best  educational  methods. 
He  wrote  from  the  amplest  intellectual  resources  and 
from  deliberate  thought.  He  had  the  rarest  opportu- 
nities, both  in  this  country  and  abroad,  and  by  study  and 
personal  observation  he  became  familiar  with  various 
systems  in  education,  and  learned  to  utilize  philosophical 
deductions  therefrom,  so  that  he  may  justly  be  ranked 
among  the  foremost  exponents  of  pedagogical  science  in 
the  world. 

His  reports,  lectures,  and  essays  on  various  subjects 
of  school  interest  and  importance  are  prolific  and  thor- 
ough, and  designate  him  as  the  highest  authority  in  all 
questions  of  popular  education.  His  series  of  school 
reports,  as  superintendent  of  the  Boston  schools,  will 
ever  be  prized  for  the  great  amount  of  sound,  practical 
information  they  contain,  and  as  highly  important  con- 
tributions to  school  literature.  His  recent  admirable 
circular  of  the  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  D.  C, 
entitled,  "  City  School  Systems  of  the  United  States," 


BOSTON'S  TRIBUTE.  201 

may  justly  be  considered  almost  unrivalled,  as  the  ablest 
and  fullest  document  on  educational  matters,  that  has 
yet  been  issued  from  the  American  press  ;  thorough,  pro- 
found, and  completely  covering  all  the  ground  in  educa- 
tional investigation.  The  wide  range  of  topics  so  ably 
considered  and  analyzed,  and  the  rare  power  of  observa- 
tion brought  to  bear  on  all  subjects  of  organization  and 
methods  of  instruction,  for  city  schools  especially,  give 
the  entire  report  a  remarkable  interest,  and  assign  the 
author  a  prominent  place  in  educational  science. 

Dr.  Philbrick  expressed  the  hope,  if  health  and 
strength  permitted,  to  write  the  History  of  American 
Education.  He  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death  on 
some  important  papers  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  he  has  left 
complete  additions  to  his  already  valuable  publications. 
Says  the  poet  Whittier,  for  many  years  the  friend  and 
neighbor  of  Dr.  Philbrick,  "He  leaves  a  noble  record, 
and  his  name  will  long  be  cherished  as  a  wise  and  suc- 
cessful friend  of  learning,  and  as  a  worthy  and  upright 
citizen  "  ;  and  his  friend,  General  Eaton,  recently  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Education,  bears  this  testimony 
to  his  work  :  "  An  able,  scholarly,  and  noble  man,  dear 
friend,  great  educator,  full  of  knowledge,  wise  to  plan  and 
faithful  to  execute,  his  death  is  a  calamity  to  sound  learn- 
ing the  world  over."  What  higher  eulogiums  could  be 
engraven  on  the  monument  of  any  man,  than  such  praise, 
emanating  from  men  ranking  high  in  literary  attainment 
and  scholarship. 

Dr.  Philbrick  always  took  a  deep  interest  in  this  Asso- 
ciation^  believing  in  a  full  and  free  discussion  of  all 


202  JOHN  D.   PHILBRICK. 

subjects  pertaining  to  the  best  welfare  of  the  schools. 
As  a  presiding  officer,  he  presented  his  views  with 
clearness  and  sincerity.  He  never  in  a  dictatorial  or 
offensive  manner  urged  the  adoption  of  any  measure, 
but  waited  patiently  till  all  became  satisfied  that  his 
suggestions  and  recommendations  would  conduce  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  schools. 

The  important  lesson  to  be  drawn  from  such  a  life  of 
upright  and  independent  action  as  vitalized  the  whole 
being  of  Dr.  Philbrick,  should  create  an  anxious  desire, 
especially  in  teachers,  to  foster  and  develop  those  leading 
and  prominent  characteristics  which  gave  a  peculiar 
charm  to  his  public  and  official  life.  His  defence  of 
truth  and  honest  opinion  was  a  marked  feature  in  the 
career  of  this  noble  man,  and  this  should  be  cherished 
and  remembered  of  him,  as  it  is  the  key-stone  of  all  that 
is  lofty  in  character,  and  the  most  fitting  armor  for  the 
greatest  in  this  world's  arena ;  and  it  should  be  the  con- 
stant aim  of  all  to  cultivate  and  unfold  in  their  teaching 
that  independence  and  conscientiousness  which  prepare 
the  opening  and  receptive  minds  of  the  young  for  stations 
of  influence  and  honor  in  life's  career. 

The  name  of  the  departed  will  still  live  in  all  its 
blessed  influence,  not  only  in  the  hearts  of  a  multitude 
of  friends,  but  also  in  most  grateful  recognition  by  all 
who  can  appreciate  his  noble  work  and  the  vast  amount 
of  good  accomplished  by  him  in  his  industrious  life. 

Says  Pericles,  the  Grecian  statesman,  "  The  earth  is 
the  sepulchre  of  illustrious  men  ;  nor  is  it  the  inscription 
on  their  monuments  alone  that  shows  their  worth,  but  the 


BOSTON7 8  TEIBUTE.  203 

unwritten  memorial  of  them  in  remembrance."  So  we, 
my  brethren,  may  never  stand  by  the  grave,  or  read  the 
epitaph  of  him  we  all  so  mourn,  but  we  shall  often  recall 
his  many  virtues  and  dwell  with  satisfaction  and  profit  on 
the  noble  record  of  a  life  so  active,  so  useful,  and  so 
honorable. 

At  the  close  of  these  addresses  the  following  resolu- 
tions, offered  by  a  committee  appointed  at  the  previous 
meeting  of  the  Association,  consisting  of  C.  Goodwin 
Clark,  W.  E.  Eaton,  James  F.  Blackinton,  Elbridge 
Smith,  and  Granville  B.  Putnam,  were  unanimously 
adopted,  and  the  meeting  adjourned:  — 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The  masters  of  the  public  schools  of  Boston  hereby  express 
their  sense  of  personal  bereavement  at  the  great  loss  they 
and  the  cause  of  education  have  sustained  in  the  death  of 
John  D.  Philbrick,  who  for  twenty  years  was  superintendent  of 
the  public  schools  of  this  city. 

He  was  great  as  an  organizer  and  masterly  in  execution. 
To  his  devotion,  wisdom,  enthusiasm,  and  wise  conservatism, 
the  excellence  of  our  schools  to-day  is,  in  large  measure,  due. 

His  forty-five  reports  to  the  school  committee  are  valuable 
contributions  to  education.  They  are  notable  for  sound  judg- 
ment, wise  suggestions,  and  statesman-like  sagacity.  They 
have  given  an  educational  reputation  to  Boston  at  home  and 
in  foreign  countries. 

We  lament  the  loss  of  a  noble  man  and  a  sincere  friend, 
whose  wise  counsel  was  always  at  our  command,  whose  kindly 
sympathy  encouraged  and  strengthened  us  in  trouble,  whose 
enthusiasm  was  contagious,  whose  cheerfulness  was  perennial, 
whose  patience  was  unwearied,  and  whose  charity  extended  to 
all,  even  to  those  who  could  not  understand  his  motives  or 
appreciate  his  labors. 


204  JOHN  D.   PHILBE1CK. 

While  we  bow  in  submission  to  the  will  of  an  all-wise  and 
loving  Father,  we  confess  our  disappointment  that  his  life  was 
not  prolonged  to  serve  still  further  the  cause  which  he  loved, 
and  for  which  freedom  from  public  duties  had  furnished  the 
opportunity,  and  his  ripened  wisdom  had  so  eminently  fitted 
him. 

May  his  elevated  character,  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
popular  education,  and  his  love  for  those  who  labor  in  it  be  to 
us  an  example  and  an  inspiration. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTERS'    CLUB. 

The  Schoolmasters'  Club  is  a  social  and  professional 
club,  composed  of  teachers,  superintendents,  editors  of 
educational  journals,  and  other  school  men  of  New  Eng- 
land, who  dine  together  several  times  each  year,  and 
discuss  educational  questions.  Dr.  Philbrick  was  one 
of  the  original  members  of  the  New  England  Pedagog- 
ical Society,  from  which  the  Schoolmasters'  Club  sprang. 
He  bad  always  retained  his  membership  in  the  club,  — 
indeed  had  been  made  an  honorary  member. 

At  a  meeting  of  this  club,  held  Feb.  20,  1887,  addresses 
were  made  as  follows,  in  support  of  resolutions  read  by 
Larkin  Dunton  :  — 

ADDRESS    OF    JAMES    F.    BL.ACKINTON. 

Among  those  who  have  taken  a  prominent  part  in 
educational  affairs  in  our  day,  the  name  of  John  D. 
Philbrick  stands  in  the  foremost  rank.  During  his 
career  in  this  city,  some  of  us,  members  of  this  Asso- 
ciation, were  witnesses  of  his  course  from  the  beginning, 
from  his  position  as  assistant  teacher  to  his  crowning 


BOSTON'S  TRIBUTE.  205 

work,  the  re-organization  and  successful  management  of 
the  Boston  schools.  We  saw  his  untiring  industry,  his 
persistent  purpose,  his  calm  patience  under  opposition 
and  provocation,  and  when  the  triumph  came,  we  saw 
how  meekly  and  gracefully  he  bore  his  honors. 

One  of  the  strong  points  in  Mr.  Philbrick's  character 
was  the  rare  judgment  he  showed  in  steering  between 
extreme  educational  conservatives  on  the  one  side,  and 
violent  radicals  on  the  other.  He  had  a  profound 
distrust  of  all  educational  hobbies.  Always  ready  to 
examine  what  was  new  and  promised  to  be  valuable,  he 
pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  refusing  to  be  turned 
aside  from  his  purpose  by  any  patent  devices  or  short 
cuts  to  educational  success. 

Another  of  his  peculiar  traits,  as  I  knew  him,  was  his 
desire  to  find  out  the  best  side  of  every  teacher's  char- 
acter. Too  many  of  us,  I  fear,  who  have  the  supervision 
of  teachers,  seem  to  regard  criticism  as  the  principal 
function  of  our  office.  We  seem  to  think  if  we  find  the 
bad,  the  good  will  take  care  of  itself.  This  was  not  Mr. 
Philbrick's  method.  He  first  carefully  sought  and  com- 
mended all  that  was  excellent  in  a  teacher's  work,  and 
then,  in  the  kindest  manner,  pointed  out  what  needed 
correction.  This  was  one  thing  that  gave  him  so  strong 
a  hold  on  the  love  and  respect  of  the  teachers  of  Boston. 
As  the  years  go  by,  I  believe  the  work  of  Mr.  Phil  brick 
in  all  departments,  as  teacher,  superintendent,  and 
writer,  will  be  more  and  more  appreciated,  and  the  con- 
viction will  be  strengthened  that  this  work  will  bear  the 
test  of  near  approach  and  strict  examination. 


206  JOHN  D.   PHILBKICK. 

But  we  are  told  that  Mr.  Philbrick  was  not  a  great 
man.  No,  as  the  term  is  generally  understood,  perhaps 
not.  What  is  a  great  man  ?  I  once  heard  Mr.  Everett 
say,  a  great  man  is  one  who  sets  his  mark  on  the  insti- 
tutions of  his  age,  and  leaves  the  world  better  for  his 
having  lived.  John  Dudley  Philbrick  set  his  mark  on 
the  educational  institutions  of  Boston,  and  left  them 
better  than  he  found  them. 

It  has  been  said  within  the  last  few  weeks  that  Mr. 
Philbrick's  death  was  untimely.  So  it  was  when  we 
remember  what  was  expected  of  him.  When  he  left  us 
here  in  Boston,  we  had  a  right  to  look  for  ten  or  fifteen 
years  more  of  active  educational  work  from  him.  But 
when  we  look  at  what  he  did,  his  death  was  not  untimely. 
He  accomplished  more  in  that  fifty  years  than  others 
would  have  accomplished  in  a  century.  So  far  as  the 
true  purposes  of  living  and  doing  for  his  fellowmen  are 
concerned,  the  span  of  a  patriarch's  life  was  but  a  frac- 
tion compared  with  that  threescore  years  and  nearly 
ten,  so  nobly  and  so  grandly  filled.  As  we  said  a  few 
months  ago  of  one  of  our  departed  members,  we  look 
with  just  pride  and  satisfaction  on  the  record  of  a  full 
and  rounded  life,  devoted,  for  half  a  century,  to  the 
noble  cause  that  lay  nearest  his  heart. 

ADDRESS    OF    GRANVII^E    B.    PUTNAM. 

Mr.    President  and  Gentlemen:  — 

As  I  have  known  our  friend,  Mr.  Philbrick,  longer, 
and,  in  some  respects,  more  intimately  than  any  other 
one  present,  I  desire  to  say  a  few  words  upon  this 


BOSTON'S    TRIBUTE.  207 

occasion.  As  you  know,  he  was  born  in  Deerfield,  N.  H., 
and  this  home  of  his  childhood  was  ever  dear  to  him. 
Until  the  time  of  his  death  he  retained  the  old  homestead 
in  his  possession,  and  it  was  his  delight  to  revisit  it. 
Every  rock  and  tree  was  a  familiar  friend.  To  trim 
these  trees  seemed  almost  a  passion,  and  he  took  great 
pride  in  their  growth  and  symmetrical  development  under 
his  pruning  hand.  He  often  spoke  in  admiration  of  the 
scenery,  which  was  so  rugged  and  picturesque,  and  pre- 
dicted that  the  time  would  come  when  Deerfield  would 
be  a  favorite  place  of  summer  resort. 

His  father  was  a  man  of  strong  character,  whom  he 
much  resembled.  As  he  lay  upon  his  death-bed,  a 
likeness  of  his  father  was  placed  in  my  hand,  and  as  I 
looked  from  one  to  the  other,  I  was  struck  with  the 
marked  resemblance. 

He  spent  his  time  much  as  country  boys  do,  attending 
school  during  short  terms,  making  maple  sugar,  breaking 
steers,  etc.  He  was  a  young  man  of  courage  and  muscle, 
and  I  have  often  heard  him  tell  the  story  of  the  reception 
he  gave  the  sophomores  who  visited  his  room  early  in 
his  freshman  year.  Instead  of  complying  with  their 
demands,  he  seized  a  chair  and  with  a  tiger-like  strength 
and  agility  drove  them  not  only  from  the  room  but  down 
the  stairs.  He  was  soon  summoned  to  the  study  of  the 
President.  He  went  with  a  good  deal  of  trepidation,  told 
his  story,  and  waited  for  his  sentence.  The  President 
slowly  said,  "  Freshman  Philbrick,  you  did  just  right, 
just  right.  You  can  go,  sir/' 

My  personal  knowledge  of  Mr.  Philbrick  dates  back  to 


208  JOHN   D.   PHILBRICK. 

the  year  1839,  I  think,  when  he  was  a  student  in  Dart- 
mouth College.  Having  had  a  little  experience  in 
teaching,  he  resolved  to  secure  a  winter  school  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  fixed  upon  $20  per  month  as  his  price.  He 
started  out  on  foot,  traveling  from  town  to  town,  seeking 
a  situation  in  the  town  of  Danvers,  until  he  reached  a 
schoolhouse  painted  white,  with  green  blinds.  This 
structure  seemed  to  him  palatial,  and  he  decided  that  if 
he  could  secure  a  position  there  he  would  teach  for  $19 
per  month. 

My  father  was  Prudential  Committeeman  that  year, 
and  young  Philbrick  sought  him  out  and  presented  his 
application.  He  was  taken  out  upon  a  bridge  leading 
from  the  shoe  factory  to  the  storehouse  for  a  private 
consultation.  The  bridge  was  in  plain  view  from  a 
kitchen  window,  where  were  grouped  the  young  ladies  of 
the  family,  who  indulged  in  remarks  at  the  expense  of 
his  personal  appearance.  Foremost  among  these  was  my 
aunt,  who  afterwards  became  his  devoted  wife.  His  was 
the  first  winter  school  which  I  attended. 
,  In  the  spring  of  1849  I  came  to  Boston,  and  was  again 
his  pupil,  having  entered  the  first  class  in  the  Quincy 
School.  This  was  soon  after  its  establishment  upon  the 
single-headed  plan.  Mr.  Philbrick  was  its  first  master, 
and  fully  believing  in  this  plan  of  organization,  he  entered 
with  all  the  energy  of  his  nature  upon  the  task  of  making 
it  a  success.  He  was  rewarded  by  being  permitted  to 
see  this  plan,  together  with  that  of  having  a  single  room 
for  each  teacher  and  a  single  desk  for  each  pupil,  adopted 
in  every  portion  of  the  land. 


BOSTON'S   TRIBUTE.  209 

This  was  the  first  school  to  be  furnished  with  a  large 
assembly  hall.  In  this  he  was  accustomed  to  have  public 
exercises.  These  were  very  fully  attended,  and  aided  in 
increasing  the  fame  of  the  school.  His  discipline  was 
firm,  and  upon  frequent  occasions  he  vigorously  applied 
the  rod,  as  I  can  testify  from  personal  experience.  I 
should,  however,  consider  his  government  mild  for  those 
days. 

Mr.  Philbrick  was  a  man  of  scholastic  tastes,  and  a 
hard  student.  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Leonard,  for  many  years  his 
next-door  neighbor,  once  told  me  that  when  awake  he 
could  always  tell  the  midnight  hour  by  hearing  him  split- 
ting his  wood  for  the  morning  fire  ;  for  this  he  always 
did  when  his  evening  work  in  the  study  was  ended.  Mr. 
Philbrick  possessed  a  great  store  of  educational  facts,  and 
had  them  at  his  command,  so  that  he  was,  in  my  opinion, 
better  equipped  for  writing  the  history  of  Education  in 
America  than  any  other  man.  This  would  have  been 
for  him  a  noble  task,  but  if  ever  written  it  must  be  by 
another  hand. 

I  must  not  occupy  your  time  longer,  but  I  would  bear 
witness  to  his  nobleness  of  character  and  usefulness  to 
men.  His  manner  was  so  simple  and  unassuming  that 
some  said  he  was  not  a  great  man ;  but  if  the  standard 
which  Brother  Blackinton  has  suggested  is  the  true 
one,  —  namely,  that  he  is  great  who  leaves  his  mark 
upon  his  age,  surely  John  Dudley  Philbrick  was  a 
great  man. 


210  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The  following  resolutions  were  then  unanimously 
adopted,  and  a  copy  ordered  to  be  engrossed  and  sent  to 
Mrs.  Philbrick  :  — 

Resolved,  That  the  Schoolmasters'  Club  of  Boston  desire 
to  place  on  record  the  following  statement  of  their  appreci- 
ation of  the  life  and  services  of  their  late  beloved  associate, 
Dr.  John  D.  Philbrick  :  — 

He  was  a  man  of  eminent  ability.  No  one  talent,  indeed, 
over-shadowed  all  the  rest ;  but  his  mind,  well-rounded  and 
evenly  balanced,  was  one  of  remarkable  force. 

He  had  great  power  of  application.  From  the  beginning  of 
his  college  course,  almost  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he  was  an 
incessant  worker.  For  him  no  pains  was  too  great,  and  no 
needed  labor  was  too  severe. 

His  life  was  given  to  the  cause  of  education.  His  profes- 
sion was  chosen  as  early  as  his  sophomore  year  in  college,  and 
seems  to  have  been  followed  with  his  whole  soul  to  the  very 
end.  In  his  view  it  was  a  high  and  holy  calling,  and  worthy  of 
the  highest  ambition  of  the  noblest  minds. 

He  studied  education  from  the  standpoint  of  history  and 
philosophy.  No  man  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived  was  better 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  school  systems,  educational 
theories,  and  methods  of  teaching.  His  very  conservatism 
resulted  from  his  knowledge  of  limitations. 

His  integrity  never  faltered.  Honesty,  both  intellectual  and 
moral,  was  a  native  element  in  his  character.  Selfish  aims  and 
ambitions  found  no  lodgment  in  his  heart.  He  preferred 
failure  to  insincerity. 

He  was  generous  and  sympathetic.  No  man  was  quicker  to 
detect  merit  in  others,  or  more  ready  to  give  credit  where  it 
was  due.  Thousands  of  teachers  have  been  cheered  by  his 
kind  words  of  sympathy  and  wise  counsel.  He  was  a  friend 
to  all  who  were  honestly  working  for  the  good  of  public 
schools. 


BOSTON1  S   TRIBUTE.  211 

Patient  toward  those  who  differed  from  him  in  opinion,  he 
was  possessed  of  the  true  Christian  spirit  of  forgiveness 
toward  his  enemies.  His  later  life  was  a  constant  exhibition 
of  his  conviction  that  it  is  better  to  suffer  wrong  than  to  do 
wrong.  It  was  impossible  to  provoke  him  to  the  doing  of  an 
impolite  act  or  the  saying  of  an  impolite  word. 

His  life  has  been  a  grand  success.  Wherever  public  schools 
exist  his  influence  is  felt,  and  will  long  continue  to  be  felt,  for 
good.  His  mind  was  clear  and  strong;  his  character  was 
round  and  full  and  sweet  \  and  his  life  contributed  in  no  small 
measure  to  the  well  being  of  the  world  in  which  he  lived. 

May  we  cherish  his  memory  and  emulate  his  example. 

THE  SCHOOL  COMMITTEE. 

The  following  resolutions  were  offered  at  a  meeting  of 
the  School  Committee  of  Boston,  February  9,  1886,  by 
William  C.  Williamson,  a  member  who  had  served  on 
the  old  board  of  school  committee,  while  Dr.  Philbrick 
was  superintendent.  The  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted  by  a  rising  vote  :  — 

Resolved,  That  the  School  Committee  desire  to  place  on 
record  their  deep  and  abiding  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  long 
and  eminent  service  rendered  in  the  cause  of  public  education 
by  John  D.  Philbrick,  lately  deceased.  For  twenty  years  he 
was  superintendent  of  our  schools.  During  that  period  his 
efforts  were  constant  and  untiring  to  enlarge  their  usefulness 
and  powers,  to  raise  their  standard,  and  to  keep  them  fully  up 
to  the  requirements  of  advanced  intelligence,  and  he  left  them 
in  a  better  condition  than  when  he  entered  upon  his  office,  by 
reason  of  his  labor,  watchfulness,  and  forethought.  He  was 
in  his  profession  an  idealist,  an  enthusiast.  "  He  was  a 
scholar,  and  a  ripe  and  good  one,  exceeding  wise,  fair-spoken, 
and  persuading  "  ;  but  he  was  also  a  conservative,  not  too 
easily  convinced  of  the  soundness  of  new  fashions  in  edu- 


212  JOHN   D.    PHILBEICK. 

cation  ;  gifted  with  executive  and  practical  skill,  and  with  a 
personal  influence  which  made  him  known  throughout  the 
schools.  In  his  forty-five  printed  reports  he  has  placed  upon 
the  files  of  this  committee  a  lasting  memorial  of  his  learn- 
ing, his  good  sense,  and  his  sanguine  hopes.  These,  with 
their  wise  suggestions  drawn  from  his  experience  and  obser- 
vation of  the  progress  of  education  at  home  and  in  foreign 
countries,  will  afford  light  upon  many  questions,  and  bear 
fruitful  testimony  to  his  ability  and  character  for  many  years 
to  come. 

PUBLIC  MEMORIAL  SERVICES. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Boston  Masters'  Association,  held 
March  2,  1886,  a  committee,  consisting  of  Robert  Swan, 
of  the  Winthrop  School,  Moses  Merrill,  Ph.D.,  of  the 
Latin  School,  Larkin  Dunton,  LL.D.,  of  the  Normal 
School,  C.  Goodwin  Clark,  of  the  Gaston  School,  and 
George  R.  Marble,  of  the  Chapman  School,  was  appointed 
to  arrange  for  holding  a  public  memorial  service  in 
Boston,  sometime  the  following  autumn,  in  honor  of 
Dr.  John  D.  Philbrick. 

This  committee  decided  to  invite  Gilman  H.  Tucker 
of  New  York,  Larkin  Dunton  of  Boston,  and  Dr.  Wm. 
T.  Harris  of  Concord,  Mass.,  to  address  the  friends 
of  the  honored  dead,  at  a  meeting  to  be  held  the  fol- 
lowing autumn.  All  these  gentlemen  accepted  the 
invitation. 

The  meeting  was  held,  November  5,  1886,  in  the 
spacious  hall  of  the  Public  Latin  School  building,  on 
Warren  avenue,  Boston.  The  public  schools  of  the  city 
were  dismissed  on  the  occasion.  Mr.  Edwin  P.  Seaver, 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  presided.  The  hall  was 


BOSTON'S   TRIBUTE.  213 

crowded  with  teachers,  past  and  present  members  of 
the  Boston  School  Committee,  and  other  school  men. 
The  widow  of  the  lamented  dead  and  a  large  circle  of 
intimate  friends  occupied  seats  reserved  for  them. 
Prayer  was  offered  by  Granville  B.  Putnam  of  the 
Franklin  School.  Mr.  Seaver,  on  taking  the  chair, 
spoke  as  follows  :  — 

ADDRESS    OF    HON.    EDWIN    P.    SEAVER. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  — 

We  have  met  to-day,  that  we  may  testify  our  respect 
for  the  memory  of  one,  the  record  of  whose  life-work 
fills  a  large  place  in  the  educational  history  of  Boston, 
—  John  Dudley  Philbrick.  If  one  were  to  begin  with 
the  benefits  of  a  mere  physical  or  material  kind  for 
which  the  cause  of  education  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Phil- 
brick,  there  would  be  much  to  say  of  the  convenient, 
cheerful,  often  beautiful  schoolhouses,  which  adorn  all 
parts  of  our  city  ;  but  it  is  enough  now  to  remember 
that  the  crowning  glory  of  them  all,  —  this  palatial 
building  in  which  we  are  now  assembled,  —  is  due 
more  to  his  efforts  than  to  those  of  any  other  one  man. 
And  yet  benefits  of  this  kind  are  among  the  least  of 
his  claims  to  remembrance.  The  visitor  to  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  in  London,  is  reminded,  by  the  inscription 
he  reads  over  the  tomb  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  that 
if  he  would  behold  the  great  architect's  monument  he 
must  look  about  him.  But  he  who  may  hereafter  look 
for  Mr.  Philbrick's  monument  will  find  it  not  in  marble 
tablet  or  granite  shaft  that  may  mark  his  grave  near 


214  JOHN  D.  PHILBEICK. 

his  country  home,  nor  even  in  the  palatial  schoolhouses 
raised  during  his  long  administration,  all  around  us, 
but  in  the  common  school  system  itself  of  the  city  of 
Boston, — and  in  the  vast  influence  which,  through  that 
system,  he  has  exerted  upon  schools  and  scholars  through- 
out this  land. 

The  three  characteristics  of  Mr.  Philbrick  which 
have  impressed  me  most  were  his  sound,  practical 
wisdom,  his  steadfastness  or  courage  in  defence  of  his 
opinions,  and  his  ardent  professional  enthusiasm.  In 
his  earlier  years  he  was  a  reformer,  and  these  charac- 
teristics made  him  successful.  Later  in  life  his 
position  was  more  conservative  ;  not,  however,  because 
he  had  surrendered  his  cherished  convictions,  or  abated 
his  enthusiasm,  but  rather  because  the  later  advances  in 
educational  methods  were  not  fully  trusted  by  him. 

But  others  will  speak  of  his  character  more  fully 
than  I  have  a  right  to  speak  now.  It  is  for  me  to  intro- 
duce to  you  speakers  who  have  known  him  long  and 
loved  him  well.  Let  me  add  but  one  word  more.  We 
say  we  have  assembled  to  do  honor  to  Mr.  Philbrick's 
memory.  How  shall  we  truly  do  that  ?  If  all  wish  to 
honor  his  memory  sincerely,  —  in  the  manner  in  which- 
he  would  most  approve,  —  we  shall  carry  some  of  the 
inspiration  of  this  hour  into  our  daily  duties,  and  ded- 
icate ourselves  anew  to  all  that  is  high  and  noble  in 
the  great  work  which  he  loved  so  well. 

The  Superintendent  then  introduced  the  speakers 
whose  addresses  form  the  first  three  chapters  of  this 


BOSTON'S  TRIBUTE.  215 

volume,  and  at  the  close  of  the  speaking  read  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  R.  Kuki,  the  Japanese  Minister  to 
the  United  States  :  — 

LETTER    OF    THE    JAPANESE    MINISTER. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  Nov.  3d,  1886. 
Gentlemen :  — 

Although  unavoidably  prevented,  to  my 
great  regret,  from  being  with  you  in  person,  I  desire 
most  sincerely  to  join  with  you  in  doing  honor  to  the 
memory  of  that  very  distinguished  man,  the  late  John 
D.  Philbrick,  whose  benevolent  labors  have  been  pro- 
ductive of  so  much  good,  not  only  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  but  all  over  the  world.  I  first  had  the 
pleasure  of  being  associated  with  him  in  1878,  at  the 
Universal  Exposition  at  Paris,  where  both  of  us  were 
appointed  "  Membres  de  Juries  "  on  the  subject  of 
education.  I  found  him  to  be  a  gentleman  who  won 
universal  respect,  not  only  as  a  savant,  but  also  on 
account  of  his  attractive  manners.  I  was  one  of  many 
who  became  warmly  attached  to  him,  and  derived  great 
benefit  from  my  intercourse  with  him,  particularly  in  our 
conversations  on  topics  connected  with  education.  I 
shall  never  cease  to  cherish,  with  the  most  profound 
respect,  the  memory  of  our  friendship  and  of  his  thor- 
ough knowledge  and  excellent  judgment,  as  well  as  his 
eminently  admirable  character.  With  the  assurance  of 
my  sincere  sympathy  with  you  on  this  occasion,  believe 
me  to  remain, 

With  great  respect, 

Yours  faithfully, 

R.  KUKI, 

His  Imperial  Japanese  Majesty's 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary. 


MISCELLANEOUS  RESOLUTIONS. 


MISCELLANEOUS  RESOLUTIONS. 


The  following  resolutions,  adopted  by  various  asso- 
ciations and  communities  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  will  show  something  of  the  extent  and  strength 
of  Dr.  Philbrick's  influence  throughout  the  nation  :  — 

DEPARTMENT    OF    SUPERINTENDENCE    OF    THE    NATIONAL 
EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATION. 

ALLIANCE,  OHIO,  March    15,    1886. 
Mrs.  John  D.  Philbrick,  Danvers,  Mass., 

DEAR  MADAM  :  —  At  the  late  meeting  of  the  De- 
partment of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  the  following 
resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  :  — 

Whereas,  We,  the  officers  and  members  of  the  De- 
partment of  Superintendence  of  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association,  have  learned  of  the  death  of  John 
Dudley  Philbrick,  LL.D.,  of  Massachusetts,  who  for 
more  than  twenty-five  years  has  been  an  active  and 
enthusiastic  member  and  an  ex-President  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, desiring  to  place  upon  record  our  appreciation, 
esteem,  and  love  of  him,  adopt  the  following:  — 

Resolved,  That  this  Association  mourns  the  loss  of 
one  of  its  most  devoted  and  intelligent  workers  in  the 

(219) 


220  JOHN   D.   PHILVRICK. 

cause  of  popular  education.  As  a  teacher,  superin- 
tendent, and  writer  upon  educational  topics  for  more 
than  a  third  of  a  century,  he  has  ranked  among  the 
foremost  educators  of  this  country.  Wise  and  discreet 
in  counsel,  energetic  and  enthusiastic  in  action,  helpful 
and  sympathetic  in  his  relations  with  his  co-workers, 
he  left  behind  him  a  record  full  of  inspiration  and 
worthy  of  imitation. 

Resolved,  That  the  cause  of  general  education  has 
sustained  a  heavy  loss  in  being  deprived  of  his  zeal, 
energy,  and  wisdom,  which  have  pre-eminently  charac- 
terized his  long  career. 

Resolved,  That  the  Department  of  Superintendence 
especially  desires  to  recognize  the  eminent  services  of 
Mr.  Philbrick  in  this  special  field  of  educational  work, 
in  which  he  labored  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
achieving  not  only  a  national,  but  a  world-wide  repu- 
tation as  a  superintendent  of  instruction. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  entered  upon  the 
minutes  of  this  department,  and  that  a  copy  of  them  be 
sent  to  Mrs.  Philbrick,  to  whom  we  tender  our  sincere 
sympathy  in  her  great  bereavement. 

W.  E.  SHELDON,        \ 

A.    J.    RICKOFF,         >  Com. 

R.  W.  STEVENSON,    ) 

CHARLES  C.  DAVIDSON, 

Sec.  Dep't  of  Superintendence. 


TRUSTEES    OF    THE    PHILBRICK-JAMES    LIBRARY. 

The  trustees  of  the  Philbrick-James  Library,  having 
learned  with  deep  regret  of  the  death  of  Hon.  John  D. 
Philbrick,  desire  to  place  on  record  their  appreciation  of 
his  worth  as  a  man,  of  his  long  and  successful  labor  as  an 


MISCELLANEOUS  BESOLUTIONS.  221 

educator,  and  especially  of  his  interest  in,  and  his  ser- 
vices for  the  Philbrick-James  Library. 

Personally  and  as  a  Board  we  lament  the  loss  sustained 
by  his  native  town  and  by  the  Library  which  bears  his 
name.  His  interest  in  both  was  great,  and  the  aid  ren- 
dered in  selecting  the  Library  was  invaluable. 

His  thorough  knowledge  of  the  wants  of  the  commu- 
nity and  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  books  enabled 
him  to  make  the  Library  of  the  greatest  possible  value. 

We  express  our  sense  of  the  salutary  influence  the 
Library  has  exerted,  and  feel  that  in  it  Mr.  Philbrick  has 
a  memorial  in  the  contemplation  of  which  his  friends 
may  well  be  gratified. 

We  extend  to  his  widow  our  sympathy  in  her  great 
sorrow,  and  have  instructed  our  Secretary  to  forward  to 
her  and  to  place  on  our  records  this  expression  of  our 
appreciation  of  Dr.  Philbrick's  worth,  and  the  greatness 
of  his  love. 

Deerfield,  N.  H.,  March  4,  1886. 

TEACHERS    OF    DENVER. 

The  following  communication  to  the  Journal  of  Edu- 
cation will  explain  itself  : — 

Dear  Sir:  —  I  could  write  a  volume  without  exhaust- 
ing the.  expression  of  my  admiration  and  love  for  the  life 
and  work  of  Dr.  Philbrick.  But  you  have  no  room,  and 
I  lack  ability.  Herewith  please  find  an  expression  of  my 
associates. 

Very  respectfully,  AARON  GOVE. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  teachers  of  District  No.  I ,  after 
the  superintendent  had  announced  by  appropriate  re- 
marks the  death  of  Dr.  Philbrick,  at  his  home  at  Asylum 


222  JOHN  D.   PHILBEICK. 

Station,  Massachusetts,  a  committee,  representing  the 
three  several  departments,  —  primary,  grammar,  and  high 
schools,  —  was  appointed  to  prepare  fitting  resolutions  of 
respect. 

The  Committee  prepared  the  following,  which  were 
adopted :  — 

With  the  death  of  John  D.  Philbrick,  we  realize  the 
loss  to  the  profession  of  one  of  the  ablest,  truest,  and 
noblest  of  schoolmasters  ;  of  a  life  devoted  to  the  inter- 
ests of  public  education,  stopped  in  the  midst  of  its  best 
efforts. 

Along  with  the  thousand  other  tributes  that  will  be 
presented,  the  teachers  of  Denver  beg  leave  to  submit,  in 
token  of  their  respect  to  his  memory,  an  expression  of 
their  kind  remembrance  of  his  life  and  works,  and  of 
their  high  appreciation  of  the  magnitude  and  value  of  his 
career  to  the  school  world  of  America  and  Europe,  and 
offer  the  prayer  that  many  teachers  of  this  land  may 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  cherished  friend  whom  the 
Lord  has  called  home. 

They  tender  their  sympathy,  first,  to  the  bereaved 
widow,  and,  second,  to  all  friends,  and  rejoice  with  them 
that  the  memories  of  his  pure  life  are  so  redolent  with  all 

that  is  sacred  and  lovely. 

F.  LEE  FORMAN, 

N.  B.  COY, 
Denver,  Col.,  Feb.  6,  1886.  HELEN  DILL. 


QUL\CY    SCHOOL    ASSOCIATION. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Quincy  School  Association  of  Boston,  held  Feb.  12,  the 
following  testimonial  to  the  late  Dr.  John  D.  Philbrick 


MISCELLANEOUS  RESOLUTIONS.  223 

was  unanimously  adopted,  and  it  was  voted  that  a  copy 
be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  :  — 

We,  the  officers  and  members  of  the  Quincy  School 
Association  of  Boston,  desirous  of  expressing  our  heart- 
felt sorrow  at  the  death  of  the  late  Dr.  John  D.  Philbrick, 
the  first  master  of  our  school,  lovingly  place  upon  the 
records  of  the  Association  this  expression  of  our  esteem 
and  affection  for  our  former  teacher  and  early  friend. 

We  deeply  feel  the  loss  which  not  only  this  Associ- 
ation, but  the  cause  of  education  in  general,  has  sustained 
in  being  deprived  of  the  zeal,  energy,  and  wisdom  which 
•characterized  his  administration  of  the  various  offices 
which  he  was  called  upon  to  fill,  and  for  which  he  was  so 
eminently  qualified. 

We  personally  lament  the  loss  to  this  Association  of 
one  of  its  chief  officers,  whose  hearty  interest  in  its  for- 
mation was  an  earnest  manifestation  of  his  affection  for 
his  former  pupils  in  the  school  organized  and  made  prac- 
tically successful  by  his  personal  exertions  and  enthu- 
siasm. 

We  bear  our  testimony  to  his  abounding  kindness  and 
amiability  amid  the  vexations  of  the  schoolroom,  and  to 
the  unconcealed  affection  which  he  bore  for  all  with  whom 
he  was  associated. 

We  tender  to  the  widow  and  relatives  our  sincere  sym- 
pathy in  their  bereavement.  Sorrowing  at  the  departure 
of  husband  and  friend,  they  are  yet  blessed  in  the  memory 
of  his  worth  and  the  fact  that  thousands  mourn  with 
them,  and  bear  unanimous  testimony  to  his  superior  qual- 
ities of  mind  and  heart. 

SPENCER  W.  RICHARDSON,  Prest^\        n    . 
B.  W.  PUTNAM,  First   Vice-Prest.  I         Wf*? 

F.  W.  BULLARD,   Treas.  (     *  *       ,- 

r*    TJ    T>  c  Association. 

V.  H.  BJUGHAM,  Sec.  ) 


224  JOHN  D.  PHILBRICK. 

TRUSTEES  OF  BITES  COLLEGE. 

Dear  Mrs.  Philbrick  :  — 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  passed  by 
the  Trustees  of  Bates  College  in  reference  to  the  death 
of  your  late  husband  :  — 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  the  death  of  Hon. 
John  D.  Philbrick,  LL.D.,  for  many  years  an  honored 
member  of  our  Board,  the  departure  of  one  of  the  most 
helpful  and  zealous  friends  of  this  college,  whose  valu- 
able services  and  hopeful  spirit,  remembered  with  grat- 
itude, remain  as  an  inspiration  to  our  work  ;  a  gentleman 
of  genial  and  catholic  mind,  whose  services,  of  inesti- 
mable value  to  the  educational  interests  of  the  nation, 
fitly  received  the  highest  national  recognition. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  for- 
warded to  Mrs.  Philbrick,  to  whom  we  tender  our  sin- 
cerest  sympathy. 

O.  B.  CHENEY,  Prest. 
L.  G.  JORDAN,  Sec. 

Lewis  ton  >  Maine,  July  12,   1886. 

TOWN  OF  DEERFIELD. 

DEERFIELD,  N.  H.,  March,  1886. 

The  Resolutions  herewith  enclosed  represent  the  action 
taken  by  the  people  of  Deerfield  on  the  death  of  Hon. 
John  D.  Philbrick. 

Very  respectfully, 

G.  B.  HOITT,  Town  Clerk. 

The  citizens  of  the  town  of  Deerfield,  having  learned 
with  regret  of  the  death  of  Hon.  John  D.  Philbrick, 
would  place  on  their  records  and  transmit  to  his  family,  a 


MISCELLANEOUS  RESOLUTIONS.  225 

testimonial  of  his  worth,  and  an  expression  of  their  sense 
of  loss  in  his  decease.  They  recognize  the  service  he 
has  rendered  to  the  cause  of  education,  and  would  witness 
to  its  great  value.  They  also  gratefully  acknowledge 
their  indebtedness  to  him,  for  his  interest  in  his  native 
town,  especially  for  his  wise  and  careful  selection  of  the 
books  for  the  library,  with  which  his  name  is  associated. 
Its  value  is  in  no  small  degree  owing  to  his  painstaking 
labor. 

They  would  testify  to  his  worth  as  a  man,  and  to  the 
great  good  that  his  life-work  has  accomplished. 


UHIVBRSIT7 


gerfokk  #  gmhjr, 
Boston. 


15m-l2,'24 


04737 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


